Female modesty: women write fewer user reports than men

Not even one-fifth of women post comments on Internet forums
Female online shoppers want more information than their male counterparts

Men write the majority of forum articles.

Men are in the majority in user forums
So women are more talkative than men, are they? Not on the Internet! There, they definitely hold back verbally! Only 17 per cent of female online shoppers post comments in user forums. Male Internet users provide feedback far more often, with 29 per cent posting product appraisals or reporting their experiences. The difference is even greater with web logs. There, too, it is mostly men who provide information for other buyers and potential customers. One in five men publishes their own articles in web logs compared with only two per cent of women. These are the findings of the trend survey "Vernetzte Kunden - Wie Web 2.0 das Online-Shopping verändert (Online consumers-how Web 2.0 is changing online shopping) conducted by novomind AG in collaboration with wiwo.de and handelsblatt.com.
 
Women lead the field when it comes to looking for information
On the other hand, women are far more likely to search for information on the Net and 89 per cent of women actively visit information platforms on the Web—three per cent more than men. What’s more, over three-quarters of women state that they subscribe to regular newsletters for shopping information, while only 64 per cent of men do so. When researching products available online, both men and women like to compare the information provided both by the manufacturers and by other customers. Only 36 per cent of users rely on only the one or other source.
 
Men and women take advantage of tips from the Internet community
When looking for help with a specific product, men and women also search for information on the Net to an equal extent. If they ever need assistance regarding how to use a product, one in three respondent Internet users said they fell back on tips from other users. At the same time, they frequently look for instructions on how to use technical appliances or on the best way to take care of products.
 
Differences in consumer behaviour result in different information requirements
It is not a coincidence that women seek detailed information about a product before buying online. Whereas men tend to buy mass consumables, such as electronic appliances, on the Net, female customers are more interested in personal products, like clothes for example. Before the female consumer decides to buy, she wants to know whether the article will suit her. Four out of ten ladies would therefore like to have a three-dimensional view of the product and the opportunity to combine colours individually. Fewer than one in three men attach importance to this aspect. In addition, every tenth woman would welcome a virtual fitting room.
 
Background information
The report on the trend survey "Vernetzte Kunden - Wie Web 2.0 das Online-Shopping verändert" (Online consumers - how Web 2.0 is changing online shopping) presents the findings of an online survey conducted for novomind AG in collaboration with wiwo.de and handelsblatt.com. The survey investigated where the latest trends lie with Web 2.0 applications and how customers use them. The survey was conducted during the period from 30 January to 28 February 2007. Altogether 374 end consumers took part.
 
novomind AG: innovative software for professional customer communications
novomind is a software developer in Hamburg and the fastest-growing company in the field of electronic customer communications and mail management. As the leading provider of innovative solutions for digital customer communications, novomind AG provides software for service-oriented and personalised customer dealings. The software not only optimises efficiency in customer administration significantly, it also gives the user a faster return on investment. The portfolio of the Products division includes the novomind Self-Service SuiteTM. The software package contains all the communication modules necessary for a customer service centre on a central knowledge basis: e-mail management, virtual customer consulting and systems for interactive, real-time communication. The novomind AG Services division implements complex e-business applications. More than 40 major companies have already decided in favour of novomind technology, among them Citibank, Otto, Yello Strom and the German pension institution Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund. Club Bertelsmann, EnBW and Mexx as well as public-sector users, such as the German Bundestag (parliament) and the German Department of Trade and Industry, have already successfully introduced novomind systems to optimise their customer communications, turnover and PR.

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