Women, the Web and their Wallet

Women, the Web and Their Wallets
A Joint Study
BlogHer, Inc. and Create with Context, Inc.

BlogHer, Inc.
http://blogher.com/research
jane@blogher.com

Create with Context, Inc.
research@createwithcontext.com

1

© 2010 BlogHer, Inc. and Create with Context, Inc. All Rights Reserved.!

Agenda

•  Objective, methodology and background

•  Key findings

•  Shopping: What women want, and what they do

•  What’s missing?

•  Who are the influencers?

2


Objective

•  In August 2010, BlogHer, Inc. and Create with Context, Inc
researched women’s thoughts and behaviors around
technology, shopping and eCommerce

•  Controlling over 80% of the household spending, this female
demographic represents a $7 trillion dollar market in the US
alone

•  The results shed light on how brands and businesses could be
building better products and websites for women…and how
they can provide women with the tools and insights they need
to commit their dollars in this challenging economy

3


Methodology

•  Twenty (20) In person one-on-one ethnography interviews were conducted
with women in the S.F. Bay Area, as well as telephone interviews with women
from select markets throughout the U.S.
•  Two samples were used in order to field a 20 question survey for a
quantitative perspective
U.S. General Population Sample
•  1,131 women 18-74
•  Survey fielded in 10 U.S. Geographies (New York, Chicago, Denver,
San Diego, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, South Florida, Dallas,
Portland OR)
BlogHer Network Sample
•  1,157 women 18-74, recruited from the 23 million users on the
BlogHer audience network as well as the 2500 bloggers from the
BlogHer publishing network
•  BlogHer’s sample was statistically similar to the General Population sample,
unless called out

4


Meet some of the participants

5


Women need their interactive devices

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Mobile/Smartphones Laptop Desktop TV

Interactive devices top the list and are far more
essential than passive entertainment items such as TV

“What are the top tech items you can’t live without?”
Combined sample N=1980

6


Opportunity Alert: Bringing “social” to the console world

53% of women own a gaming console, and their online social
gaming usage is huge. But only 4% say a console is an
essential device. What are gaming hardware and software
manufacturers missing?
“What are the top tech items you can’t live without?”
Gen Pop N=952

7


Key Findings

•  Design is a critical factor for most women

•  The opportunity in “social” goes way beyond social
networking

•  Each shopping venue (online vs. offline) is missing the
opportunity win over the other’s customers

•  Blogs eclipse social networks as a place to find useful
product information

8


Shopping: What women want, and what they do

9


How women shop doesn’t align with how eCommerce works

Criteria and their priority level may organically shift

... but they
They start with
end up with
this ...!
this!

5!
1!
3! 2!
1! 5!

2! 4! 4!
3!

Meanwhile, online
shopping is linear and 1! 2! 3! 4! 5!
speciﬁcation-driven!

Ethnographic research finding
10


Why shifting priorities matter

•  Katie needed a new dryer so she went
online to ‘see what’s out there’

•  She clicked on ‘gas dryers’ and then a
price range ($600 or less) because
‘that’s what I should spend’

•  Katie actually prioritized aesthetics
first, then price, then features – but
most <$600 dryers are not pretty

•  By selecting price first, Katie did not
get an opportunity to see what could
be if she spent a little more

•  By providing inflexible filtering tools,
the website doesn’t facilitate upselling

Ethnographic research finding 11


Women want technology to be beautiful

The vast majority of participants cite design factors:
Look and feel, user interface and experience, ease of use

Rhoda opted for a pink
case on her computer

The look of Molly’s
range was important

Although it still works
well, Katie wants to
replace her phone
“because it’s ugly”

Ethnographic research finding
93% of General Population sample cites design as important
12


Women like visually appealing displays that provide
inspiration

• Women like to see related items
• Women like to see how items can go together

Online stores do not currently excel at delivering inspiration



Women like products in context, including emotional context

• How a product will fit into your life
• Seeing is believing and evokes an emotional response

This picture ...but this picture
conﬁrms seating shows how her family
capacity! will use it!

“Wow, great for the
kids, maybe they
would be quiet and
happier!”!



Women learn new products by “feel”

Key Finding: women are unlikely to
learn
to use every little feature on an item
•  They focus on what will benefit them
• Only 20% turn to others for help
•  They use by feel (80.8%)
“It’s like making a spaghetti sauce
with Angela only
uses the
a pinch of this and a pinch of that “talk” button
until on her new
phone
it feels right”

Ethnographic research finding/GenPop sample N=1,131 15


Less Can Be More

Implication: When products are
cluttered with an abundance of features,
the results may be either:
Jennifer uses “one
•  A woman may feel intimidated by the tenth” of the
buttons on her
technology and rely on intuition remote control

•  A woman may want to use by feel,
making an abundance of features
unnecessary…and in fact less desirable
than one featuring simplicity and beauty

Ethnographic research finding/GenPop sample N=1,131 16


Online shoppers expect the basics of good web design

Ease of use is fundamental

Top 5 Most Important
General Population
(Top Box: Very Important)

An easy way to filter products by size, color and price 71.5%

An easy way to return an item 76.3%

Free Shipping 78.6%

Site is clean and uncluttered 62.3%

Easier Checkout Experience 67.9%

Q. “How important are each of these to your online
shopping experience?” Gen Pop N = 643

17


In a time-constrained, budget-conscious era:
eCommerce scores points for efficiency, cost-effectiveness

Top 5 Reasons Ranked in Order of Importance

Online Shopping Motivations Gen Pop Rank

I can research and shop at my own pace #1

I can get a better deal #2

It’s fast and efficient #3

I can learn more about a product before going to the store #4

There is a broader selection #5

Q: “Rank what appeals to you most about online shopping”
Gen Pop N= 771

18


Efficiency, cost-effectiveness echoed in qualitative feedback

“Online is much
Women want to shop online because better than having to
they see many advantages in online flip through a rack.”

shopping vs. offline
•  Research and shop at your own
pace
•  No kids to distract you
•  Learning about a product before
going to the store
•  Broader selection than in a store
•  Get a sense of what’s in the
store



Online Shopping=Efficiency and cost-effectiveness

Online Shopping

Online
Shopping
Offers More
Advantages

“What location is best suited for your particular shopping need?”

Source: General Online Population: N = 1,131;
20


Brick and Mortar Shopping = Context and Inspiration

Physical Store

“What location is best suited for your particular shopping need?”

Source: General Online Population: N = 1,131;
21


Opportunity alert: Despite advantages, online shopping can
be improved
More than half an inviting, transparent experience

Q: “Which of the following would make online shopping
a better experience?” Gen Pop N = 684
22


Who and what influences a woman’s purchasing decision

23


Women use a variety of sources to make purchase decisions

But resources are used differently, for different products

Forums!

Targeted
conversations! Consumer
product
Salespeople! reviews!

FB/
Twitter!

Blogs!

Professional
product
reviews!

Chatter!

Texting!

Email!
24


Amazon vs. Mad Men: Women are influenced by real
opinions

Top Three Sources

Real   User generated comment sites (e.g. Yelp)
opinions   Customer testimonials on a corporate site
  Blog reviews

Bottom Three Sources
Marketing
  Update on a social networking site speak
  E-mail from a company
  Text message on your phone

“Rank the following according to which you trust the
most for product information” Gen Pop N = 605
25


Among social media sites, most turn to blogs for product and
purchasing information

Blogs Message Social
General Boards Networks
Product Information Category Pop. General General
Pop. Pop.

Getting product recommendations 39.5% 30.0% 30.5%

Getting detailed product information 51.4% 29.8% 18.8%

Link to site to make an online
44.2% 30.0% 25.8%
purchase

Provide a way to comment about the
29.8% 36.7% 33.6%
product

“Which of these types of online media are most useful
for (various) types of product information”
Gen Pop N = 574

26


Opportunity alert: Blogs provide elusive “inspiration”

Rhoda, a DIY/thrifting
home décor’ blogger,
recently did a post
where she showcased
all the “aqua” items in
her home



Product Verticals Purchased Based on a Blog Review

“If you purchased an item based on a blog review,
tell us what you purchased and what the experience was like”

Top 5 Categories Where Respondents
Made a Purchase Based on a Blog Review

1. Electronics
2. Beauty/Cosmetics BlogHerʼs audience
3. Clothing/Shoes indices high for
children in the
4. Housewares home…resulting in
Baby/Kid items
5. Books/Music ranking Top 5!

Source: U.S. General Online Population:
N=165 open ended responses
BlogHer Population: N=496 open ended 28
responses

Sample Blog Purchase Experiences

“If you purchased an item based on a blog review,
tell us what you purchased and what the experience was like”

“I have purchased hair
“I bought some children’s shoes care products based on
based on a blog review and was blog reviews. The
very pleased with them” blogger and I have
similar interests and I
trust her opinions”
“I have purchased makeup and
skin care products based on
blog reviews as well as jewelry “I purchased some coffee online once
and cleaning products. I have on a recommendation from a blog. It
never been disappointed!” was a wonderful experience”

“I knew nothing about GPS systems. I read multiple
blog reviews to ascertain what features people most
wanted and which brands offered those features at
the best price for best quality. I was not
disappointed”

29


•  Thank you!

Email: JANE@blogher.com

Email: research@createwithcontext.com

30


Survey demographics for both samples

Age

Income

31


Women, the Web and their Wallet

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