Men vs. Women: Holiday shopping patterns of the sexes

[mandy]

From Channel Advisor's Scott Wingo's new blog CSE Strategies:

Industry insights -- Women vs. Men:

    * 48% of men feel anxious, inadequate, confused or aggravated about buying holiday gifts.
    * 56% of women are excited about holiday shopping and chomping at the bit.
    * Women (36%) are more likely than men (22%) shop throughout the year.
    * Men (15%) are more likely than women (5%) to last-minute shop
    * Women (44%) are more likely than men (39%) to shop with friends and family
    * Men (36% spend over $250)  on gifts for significant others.  Women - only 20% would spend that much.

Industry insights -- online shopping:

    * Over 35% say they do most of their holiday shopping online.
    * 31% still favor the mall and
    * 3% still prefer a catalog
    * Men and Women are equally as likely (87%) to buy gifts online

full article: http://www.csestrategies.com/cse/2006/11...surve.html

From the Shopzilla survey:

The holiday season is like a game of hide and seek; women are seeking the perfect gift while men are hiding and hoping to just make it through the season alive. According to BizRate Research study conducted for leading comparison shopping search site Shopzilla (www.shopzilla.com), nearly half (48%) of the men surveyed feel either anxious, inadequate, confused or aggravated about buying holiday gifts. In contrast, women are chomping at the bit to start their holiday shopping. In fact, more than half of women are excited about buying holiday gifts (56%)...

Women are more likely than men to shop for holiday gifts all year long (36% of the women surveyed shop throughout the year compared to 22% of men), while men are more likely to shop at the last minute (15% of men shop the week of the holiday through 24 hours in advance of the holiday compared to 5% of women). Women are more likely to shop with friends or family (44% of women like to shop with family members compared to 39% of men; 25% of women like to shop with friends compared to 11% of men).

However, men are more likely than women to drop serious cash on their significant others. Over a third (36%) of men spend more than $250 on gifts for their significant other compared to 20% of women. In fact, 16% of men spend more than $500 on these gifts...

full article: http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/061107/0181031.html

[BellisimaJ.]

* Men (15%) are more likely than women (5%) to last-minute shop

I have to question this stat.  :

In all my years in retail sales (in the real world), men FAR outnumbered women as last-minute shoppers. In fact, I always used this point to market to men, offering wine, snacks, promos, etc., in the 4-5 days leading up to Xmas.

Which causes me to wonder how we could use this penchant men seem to have (for  last-minute shopping) to our advantage as ecommerce merchants. 

[chiquita]

Which causes me to wonder how we could use this penchant men seem to have (for  last-minute shopping) to our advantage as ecommerce merchants.

The shipping would have to be super quick. You might also offer a survey of sorts on your site to determine the likes and dislikes of the person they are shopping for. Base the survey on what you sell. Almost like being a personal shopper for your customers. That way it takes out the guess work for the man, and might increase your upsell, like recommendations for accessories, or in your case with jewelry earrings and a coordinating necklace.

Just a thought. I just tell my husband what to buy and where to buy it. It took all the stress out of gift giving. I'm happy, he is happy, win-win. I also do the same for my 2 sons. If they were left on their own, ummm not good.

[BellisimaJ.]

Good ideas, Chiquita!

The shipping would have to be super quick

Could offer overnight air. Last minute shoppers must expect to pay more.

Just a thought. I just tell my husband what to buy and where to buy it. It took all the stress out of gift giving. I'm happy, he is happy, win-win. I also do the same for my 2 sons. If they were left on their own, ummm not good.

Damn, that's what I should do. 
i can't tell you how many gifts I have stored in a closet. I don't regift because I would feel guilty, so they just sit there, lol. 

[chiquita]

Another idea might be to have a gift registry on your site. A person could register for say 10 items that they would like, and have a password to the gift list. Then your site could be sent via email by the person w/ their password to family/friends. Gift registries work really well in B & M stores for Weddings and Baby Showers.  It also provides additional exposure to your items, as the buyer may also pick up something for themselves while shopping for someone else.
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