Social networking is now a global phenomenon that affects most people who have access to the Internet. 83% of the surveyed people age 18-24 visit their social media accounts on a daily basis. As the well-known research shows 67% of social networks’ users spend more money online after recommendations. But, are we aware that most of those 67% are women? That’s right 68% of social networks users are women. Knowing that social media has an increasingly tight relationship with ecommerce it’s most wise to take the data into account when planning a new strategy.
1. There’s a grain of truth in the stereotypes
An old stereotype says: women spend more time on shopping. Of course saying that about every woman is an over-generalization, however there’s some truth to it. I sometimes even get the feeling that there are more products’ types for women than for men and that concerns mainly cosmetics, clothes and jewelry. What’s more it’s usually that women do the shopping for the whole families, thus they are believed to do it better. According to wearewomenonline.com women control up to 80% of consumer decisions at homes.
Image source: Flickr.com
2. How do we do the shopping…
It’s also that women do their shopping differently. Let’s imagine a couple shopping in a mall. From my personal experience it looks like this: a woman goes around each shop without much of a purpose, just maybe something nice will appear. While a man has a strict goal right from the very beginning, so even if he’s checking different shops it’s only to find the best bargain. It’s also believed that women are more interested in long-term solutions, thus a phenomenon of window-shopping is more common. What does it mean for e-commerce websites’ owners? Well, women are the ones who visit your eshop regularly just to look around, bookmark what they like and then share their findings with friends on Facebook or Twitter to seek their friends’ approval.
3. The domino effect
Later those friends comment and recommend. Not only does that influence the person’s purchasing decision but it’s also a way of advertising your webshop and your products among social networkers. Due to this way of shopping women spend more than $20 trillion while earning more than $13 trillion every year. The numbers speak for themselves, once a lady is provided with the perfect shopping experience she will buy from and promote your online store.
4. Act now – start talking with us!
Need ideas? Take a look at my previous post about social media as a marketing tool. Or, take a glimpse at your competitions’ fan pages. You’ll probably soon realize that you need to be more interactive and willing to share your knowledge with women. Since we want to have the in-store experience, it is great when a shop assistant can give me an advice via social network or recommend the perfect product for my individual needs. It’s all possible, so take a look at the two examples:
Image source: facebook.com/BootsOfficialUK
Image source: facebook.com/netaporter
If you are helpful and interactive towards your female audience you’re bound to gain profits!
What’s your experience if it comes to your social media strategy and female audience? Do you see any differences between female and male shoppers?
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