Females made up 51.6% of the US online population in 2004, compared to 48.4% of male, and are predicted to rise by 2.3% to 52.6% by 2008, according to a report by analysts eMarketer.
Cultural, societal and internet business trends are attributed to the female online dominance, with eMarketer forecasting the female majority to become more pronounced over the next five years, having a knock on effect on internet content, commerce and marketing.
Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the Women Online in the US report said: “While the ratio of females to males in the general population is expected to stay steady through 2009, this won’t be the case on the internet.”
Mary Hunt, from New Media Catalyst Interpret-Her, explained: “The internet allows women to get more done in a shorter time; shop, plan trips, look for homes, it also gives them another way to communicate besides the phone. The internet allows women to be social and pro-active at the same time.” Williamson added: “The rising influence of females online is something that can’t be ignored.”
Females have long embraced the internet as a communications medium, and have shown strong interest in online games, health content and music.
In the UK, British women are spending increasing amounts of time online, with between 30-40% of internet gamblers female, according to a report by research company YouGov (see UK Females Set To Lead Online Gambling).
The surge in female participation in online gambling is echoed in a study by DFC Intelligence showing that for many services, 50% of users are adult females (see Online Gaming Industry Reaches The Masses).
In its Women Online in the UK report, eMarketer claims that adult women are shifting more and more of their shopping online. Research by Millward Brown, reveals that in 2004 a quarter of UK consumers spent more than £1000 online, leading the way in Europe in terms of online spend (see UK Leads Europe In Online Spending).
eMarketer states that “as the female influence grows across the internet, companies will need to use techniques that appeal to women, including word of mouth marketing, email and relationship building.
Williamson said: “For online retailers, the challenge will be to develop shopping tools that mimic, or improve upon the offline shopping experience. That means instead of offering a page of thumbnail images of blouses, retailers must use the power of the internet to build customised shopping experiences tailored to a woman’s browsing or previous buying patterns.”
Content and news sites, marketers and agencies must also be prepared to make changes in how they interact with women online, according to eMarketer.
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