It’s probably a common perception that women enjoy shopping more than men, and this widely shared image probably paints a good picture of the shopping pattern of a woman versus a man:
But how true is that?
A recent survey conducted by Singapore Polytechnic suggests that while females shop online more often, it is the men who spend more on online purchases.
Conducted by the polytechnic’s Diploma in Media and Communication (DMC) students in June 2015, the survey indicated that 20.4% of female respondents browse for products and services online daily, compared to only 14.5% of males. However, 50.6% of male respondents say that they spend more than $100 per month on online purchases compared to 41.3% of females.
The survey also revealed that Singapore youth shop online to keep their shopping habits private. Among the respondents, 59.5% indicated that they shop online to purchase items without their friends or family knowing while 57.9% do so to keep their identity private. Interestingly, more male respondents agreed that they shop online as it gives them privacy.
A total of 816 youth between the ages of 15 and 35 were interviewed in the survey. Of which, 416 of the respondents were female and 400 of the respondents were male. The DMC students collected data via face-to-face street interviews.
Here are some of the key findings:
Online Shopping Habits in Singapore
- A majority of respondents (71.3%) browse for products and services online between 8pm to 12am.
- A significant share of respondents (35.3%) browse for products and services online one to six times a week, while 32% do so one to three times a month.
- A significant share of respondents (45.2%) purchase products or services online one to three times a month.
- Apparel, shoes and accessories is the top purchase category among Singapore youth, followed by movies, music and video games.
- Top purchase categories for male youth include apparel, technology and movies. Top purchase categories for female youth include apparel, beauty and travel.
- Females browse online more often but males spend more than females on online purchases.
- More females (20.4%) browse online daily compared to males (14.5%).
- However, 50.6% of male respondents spend more than $100 a month compared to 41.3% of females.
- Females are more likely to browse online while they are at work/school, in public places and while commuting.
- 38% of female respondents browse online while they are at work or in school, compared to 29.3% of male respondents.
- 25% of females browse online in public places compared to 19.5% of males.
- 41.6% of females browse online while commuting compared to 28.8% of males.
Motivations For Online Shopping
- 95.8% of respondents agree that they shop online to get items or brands that are not sold in Singapore.
- 90.7% of respondents agree that they shop online to get a wider selection of items or brands.
- 88.1% of respondents agree that they shop online because they can shop anytime and at any location.
- Other motivations for shopping online include being able to purchase items without friends or family knowing (59.5%), and being able to purchase items while keeping one’s identity private (57.9%).
- More male respondents (64%) shop online to purchase items without friends or family knowing, as compared to only 55% of females.
- More male respondents (61.8%) shop online to purchase items while keeping one’s identity private, as compared to only 54.1% of females.
- Lower prices rather than higher quality products is a greater draw to shop online. 85.9% of respondents agree that they shop online to find cheaper items, as compared to physical stores. In contrast, only 47.3% of respondents agreed that they shop online to find higher quality products.
Sales Tactics
- Special deals online, peer influence and social media attract more youth to purchase online.
- 54.7% of respondents have purchased from stores which offer free gifts, shipping or discount codes.
- 42.3% of respondents have purchased from stores which are popular among their friends.
- 40.2% of respondents have purchased from stores which they liked on social media or are subscribed to.
- Endorsements by celebrities is the least effective strategy. Only 11.4% of respondents have purchased from stores endorsed by their favourite celebrity.
- More female respondents (47.6%) purchase from online stores that they liked on social media or are subscribed to, as compared to 32.5% of males.
- More male respondents (29%) purchase from online stores that stock limited edition items, as compared to 15.1% of females.
- More youth aged 20 and above purchase from online stores that offer special deals and are popular among their friends.
- Almost half of youth aged 20 and above purchase from online stores that are popular among their friends, compared to only 32.8% of youth aged 15 to 19 years old.
- More than half of youth aged 20 and above purchase from online stores that offer free gifts, shipping or discount codes, compared to 42.4% of youth aged 15 to 19 years old.
Elizabeth Foo, a second-year DMC student, added: “These results will be useful to marketers because there are few localised surveys targeting Singapore youth. This debunks the myth that women shop and spend more than men. Perhaps marketers can target male online shoppers, now that we know that they spend more than females.”