More European women are going online to shop, with 46% visiting online retail sites in 2005, according to a new study from the European Interactive Advertising Association. That compares with 41% in 2004 and 38% in 2003.

 

More European women are going online to shop, with 46% visiting online retail sites in 2005, according to a new study from the European Interactive Advertising Association. That compares with 41% in 2004 and 38% in 2003.

In addition, 33% of European women visited auction sites in 2005, compared with 24% in 2004 and 18% in 2003.

The study also found that 59.8% of European women used broadband to go online in 2005, compared with 47.2% in 2004 and 16.9% in 2003. Broadband use is an important indicator of online retail spending because broadband users tend to shop more online than dial-up users.

European men still spend more time online than European women, the EIAA said. In 2005, men spent an average of 11 hours a week online compared to women, who spent an out 9 hours online. However, over the past three years, the hours spent online by European women grew by 63% while for European men it has grown 54%.

advertisement

This growth in online use by women is being driven by 16-24 year olds, young professionals and women with children, according to the study. The number of young professionals using the Internet has more than doubled since 2003 while women with children use the Internet 14% more than the average European woman, EIAA said.

Favorite