There is a gender divide when it comes to online shopping...and men currently claim the majority.
According to Bronto Software's 2015 "Consumers Tell All" survey, 30 percent of males shop online once per week, compared to only 18 percent of females.
The results demonstrated a change from the 2014 survey, which showed an even split between men and women in the area of online shopping frequency, with 25 percent apiece shopping at least once a week.
"This was really shocking to me. We're seeing the same trend in Canada. This is a survey of shoppers, not of transactions," speculated Jim Davidson, head of research for Bronto, according to Direct Marketing News, "so it could be there is a difference of perception about what shopping is between the genders."
As for the notable shift in the gender breakdown regarding online shopping from the previous year, Davidson remarked that the results "should provoke online retailers to analyze consumer behaviors away from the norms."
Partnering with global market research company Ipsos, Bronto garnered its results by polling 1,012 consumers in the United States who reported having made an online purchase in the 12 months prior to January 2015. Nearly one quarter (24 percent) of men and women combined identified themselves as shopping online at least once a week, with 60 percent claiming to do so at least once a month.
"Consumers are not simply window shopping in your stores or casually browsing your product pages," the report states. "They are using multiple devices to extend their shopping experience and influence purchase decisions. Basically, they have obliterated the linear path to purchase and are creating their own customer lifecycle dotted with multiple shopping sessions that vary in location, channel and device. Simply put, consumers are in control of the eCommerce landscape."
The report also reported data by age, where research found that those under 40 were the most active frequent shoppers, and seniors were reportedly the least active shoppers overall.
By region, the report found that those in the West were the most active online shoppers, with 29 percent saying they did so "very frequently" and another 37 percent saying they shopped online "somewhat frequently."
