Men VS Women. How do we make a purchasing decision ...

There are many factors that influence decision making in the online shopping process, but one and the most important is the gender of your buyer.

Men and women make purchases in absolutely different ways, with different goals, approaches, motivation and time to make a decision.

To fully explore this issue, it will take decades. But even with the naked eye it is clear that men and women think differently, respectively, and they make purchases in the same way.
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Therefore, identifying the main trends they follow during shopping is the key to successful sales.

And now about the trends ... and how to use them in sales.

1. A man on a mission, a woman on a walk ...

It is a scientifically proven fact that women can use both hemispheres of the brain, which allows them to make decisions faster, while men use only the left hemisphere, so they hesitate longer with a decision.

In general, the left side is responsible for logical thinking and facts, the right - for visualization.


(http://idop2science5.pbworks.com)

Women also use the cerebral cortex to perform tasks, while men mostly use the gray matter of the left hemisphere of the brain.

In the context of online shopping, this difference in the structure of thinking leads to the fact that men are more focused on buying, as if they are on a mission.

Women are more inclined to browse through various products in search of what they may need. Therefore, women tend to abandon the originally planned purchase in favor of a more profitable option, men do not.

2. Practicality for men, joy for women ...

According to Brown's Mpinganria study in 2014, customers have 2 motivating factors for online purchases:

1. Utilitarian. Which means that you make a purchase "as needed".

2. Hedonic. When you buy just because you like it.

Men are more prone to utilitarian shopping. Therefore, to sell them something, you just need to justify the need for this purchase. When selling, focus on the beneficial properties and benefits of this purchase.

Women are hedonic shoppers . Women love the atmosphere of comfort, attention and care when shopping - CREATE IT. Also, women are always interested to learn more about your store, the history of the brand and how they will feel after purchasing your products.

The online store Zappos , for example, shows different landing pages for men and women, guided by these gender characteristics.

The page for men contains clear navigation through the sections of the site, while the page for women is aimed at selling the emotions from the purchase.



The same can be found on the ASOS website. During their Halloween sale, they made two different pages for men and for women.

Men were shown photographs of individual things in the store, and women were shown how these things would look on themselves.

3. Women hunt, and men prefer comfort ...

In their work on online shopping , Seock and Bailey found that during shopping women visit more sites and compare more options than men.

They also found that women were more likely to be in a long search for discounts and sales, while men preferred the speed and comfort of shopping.

Women like to walk around the sites, browsing various products.

Offer them a nice interface, add the possibility of sharing in social networks and reviews of other buyers.

Fab.com is a great example of an online store for women. They offer a simple, at the same time a visual page of product selection, easy and fast search in categories, models, brands and colors, the ability to add to your favorites and quick sharing in social networks of favorite products.

4. Women are guided by emotions, and men - by facts ...

As soon as the client makes a decision about the purchase of a product or service, the information about this purchase should form a single puzzle in his head.

Studies show that the decision-making process and the search for this very information vary greatly between men and women.

Women demonstrate a more integrated approach. They are guided by both subjective (feedback from other users) and objective information in the decision-making process.

Men are only important objective characteristics (speed, volume, mass, function, etc.).

This does not mean at all that reviews of a product or service are not important for men, but men are more likely to use these reviews to form their own opinion about the product. While women are trying to understand why the person who left a review, bought a particular product and how their situations are similar.

Given these features, Trip Advisor added the ability to filter customer reviews.

5. Men are devoted to the brand, women to good service ...

A study conducted by the University. Erasmus of Rotterdam shows that when a man finds a brand that suits him, he will most likely remain faithful to him. In particular, this applies to cars, banks, home appliances and electronics.

Women are more inclined to change the brand, if another company offers them better service and increased attention.

In the process of using targeted advertising for women, concentrate on building warm trusting relationships, for men - emphasize the benefits of your product.

The ClickTale company very clearly reflected these features, having written that:

Girls watch faces. Guys for goals.

Simon Baron-Cohen's research shows that infant girls pay more attention to faces, gestures, and sounds, and boys to objects (for example, a toy that hangs over their heads).

6. Men are more likely to buy from a smartphone ...

Historically, it was men who were the pioneers of online purchases, while later women caught up with them very quickly.

According to a survey by SeeWhy in 2013, 57% of women made purchases through the Internet. As for men, the share of online buyers was only 52%.

Despite this, men more often make purchases from their smartphones. The survey showed that 22.2% of men make purchases from the phone. In women, this figure is lower - 18.2%.

Mobile shopping is the inevitable future of online trading, so your website should be ready for it.

7. Women want to feel their own importance, but speed is important for men ...

Providing a high-quality service, regardless of the gender of the buyer, is the main goal of any business, as a satisfied customer is a regular customer.

For men, quality service is to help with the selection of goods and the speed of the order.

For women, good service involves expert help and advice. For women, it is important that you pick up exactly the goods that suits her best. According to a study by Verde Group , 29% of women point out a “lack of assistance from a consultant” as the main problem of online shopping.

Conrad, for example, provides the same quality assistance and advice to both men and women when choosing electronics.

8. Women are much more afraid of the risks associated with online shopping ...

An important nuance is that women are more afraid to run into problems while shopping online, which greatly affects their decision making process. They often hesitate to make a purchase or not ...

Women are much more focused on the reliability of the seller, guarantees and the opportunity to share in public buying experience than men.

Studies show that in the same situation, women are more inclined to “change their mind to buy,” for fear that something will go wrong.

Women often retain these fears until they establish a long-term and trusting relationship with the store until they make a lot of purchases there.

Therefore, when developing your sales strategy, website, order form - keep this information in mind, especially if you plan to sell products for women.

How can you still reach the audience you need?

Women respond better to email marketing. They are more likely to read and respond to emails that you send them. Add coupons for a discount or a gift to quench their desire to buy at the best price.

And always remember that women often look through their mail during their lunch break.

Advertising banners are more suitable for men , especially if this advertisement appears at that moment when the man is just in search of a certain product.