Do Women Buyers Transform Internet Buying?

According to a new study by WebSurveyor they do. For the first time since the inception of online retailing ten years ago, more women than men purchased items online during the 2005 holiday shopping season. Online sellers are you paying attention?

The WebSurveyor 2005 Holiday WebShopper Report identifies important trends that Internet retailers must take into account if they are to stem the huge tide of abandoned online shopping carts and to repeat double-digit sales increases in 2006.

Brian Koma, WebSurveyor Vice President of Services says, "The dramatic 25% - 30% increases in 2005 can be sustained in 2006 only by better understanding who is shopping on e-tail sites, what they're looking for, and most importantly, why they're leaving."

Do you know the answers to those questions?

The report also found that:

• Women out-shopped men in every age category, including 75% of women in the 31-40 year-old age group who say the Internet is their preferred purchasing method. As a result of this, many online retailers must now consider transforming themselves from male-oriented "hunter" sites to female-oriented "gatherer" sites that provide a richer online purchasing experience.
  
• Large numbers of potential buyers (more than 70%, both men and women) continue to abandon online shopping carts before they complete the purchase process. When compared to traditional retail store abandonment rates of 2%-3%, online shopping cart abandonment rates present Internet retailers with their single biggest challenge.
  
• Shipping costs and problems continue to be big barriers to additional sales. Almost 15% of buyers say they experienced problems in receiving their goods on time, highlighting problems with shipping and tracking that can negatively impact future sales given the dramatically increased volume of goods purchased this way. When shipping problem and the perceived high cost of shipping are added together, they present Internet retailers with significant challenges for 2006.
  
• Consumers perceive Internet retail sites as less customer-focused than traditional retailers, with more than 65% saying that they buy more unplanned items at a retail store than from an Internet site. Both men and women in the spontaneous 18 30 year-old age category were particularly apt to feel this way.
  

If you'd like a copy of the complete report, visit: WebSurveyor. You'll need to register, but the report is a short interesting read that should be worth your time.

And you have only ten months to get ready for the next shopping season. Get going!