A research report by First Insight, a product strategy company, focusing on disruption in the retail industry reported that men are not engaging in online shopping as often as women, instead preferring to shop with full price in-store retailers. The study found that 22% of responding men frequently shop on mobile devices versus 40% of women, while 46% of men frequently shop on Amazon compared to 60% of women.
The survey asked 1,000 U.S. participants on shopping habits, influences, and purchase behavior. 44% of males said that an ability to touch and feel a product is what drives them to shop in stores, while only 33% of women share this behavior. Although 31% of women versus 21% of men prefer to price compare in a physical store with their mobile device, 53% of men compared to 46% of women use AI to research price.
Other findings include more women shopping in-store at discount retailers, 38% compared to 18% of men, while conversely online discounts attract more male than female shoppers, 30% versus 22% respectively. Ultimately all of the research points to a large gender gap in how men and women shop in the face of technological disruptions in the shopping industry.
First Insight’s CEO and founder, Greg Petro, spoke about the findings, saying that, “These new disruptive technologies and the growth of discount retailers are making the majority of shoppers more price-sensitive. The fact that men are less inclined to shop online overall and prefer to go in-store is a significant finding, in particular because retailers attempt to align their in-store selection and pricing to meet consumer appetites.”
