The Internet is Europe’s fastest growing media and EU women are on pace to overtake men as the most active online consumer. Over the past three years, the amount of time spent online by women has grown by 63%, compared to a growth rate of 54% for men, according to EIAA Mediascope Europe.
In 2005, women still trailed men by two hours per week, logging for an average of 9 hours. In addition to that growth, the Digital Women Report 2006 found that Internet use is quickly catching up with television and has already surpassed reading magazines.
While the number of women watching TV has grown by 12%, magazine readership among women has fallen by 4.5%.
Who’s Online?
The report shows that growth is primarily driven by 16-24 year olds, young professionals (up 116%) and women with children. On average, women with children use the Internet 14% more than European women without.
Why are they choosing the Internet?
The biggest reason cited by surveyed women for utilizing the Web is convenience. Saving time by getting “what they want quickly” was the biggest advantage over other media. Some 80% cited this attribute over newspapers, television, and radio.
Compared to those same media, 67% agreed they could “have what they want, when they want it,” and 61% believed the Internet helped them “stay ahead of the game.”
Where are they going and how are they getting there?
Travel, auction, shopping and banking sites are the most sought out Web-offerings for EU women. Over half (57%) said they visited travel sites, 43% visit banking and finance sites, 46% visit shopping sites, and a third visit auction sites.
Today, 60% of respondents said they have broadband connections, compared to only 17% three years ago.
At the end of its executive summary, EIAA Mediascope Europe provides 10 tips for advertisers for reaching this new market like seeking out new routes and becoming more interactive.
For more gender analysis reading, please read Men Are From Google, Women Are From Yahoo!
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