The new digital divide shows some interesting wrinkles

BTN News
Tuesday, 13 September 2016

Men continue to spend more than women on line, with gender stereotypes playing out: Men dominate take-away food and video game purchases, while women spend more on fashion and cosmetics, according to the 2016 Sensis eBusiness Report.


Overall, the most popular items bought on line are airline tickets (up from 47 to 53 per cent), clothing, accessories or shoes (up from 51 to 57 per cent) and hotel reservations (up from 47 to 53 per cent).


Despite again spending more than women for the year, male spending dropped significantly from A$6,500 to A$3,600, while female spending was up from A$2,400 to A$3,100.


Sensis commercial director Rob Tolliday said: “The purchasing behaviours don’t follow gender stereotypes in all cases. The number of males buying groceries jumped this year, with very little now separating males and females. And one in 10 men are now also buying cosmetics on line, which is almost half the number of women.”

The Sensis research surveyed 1,000 Australian small and medium businesses and 800 Australian consumers about their on-line experiences and found that more than seven in 10 Australians (71 per cent) made purchases on line this year, up 10 percentage points from last year.

“While more Australians are making purchases on line, they remain uneasy about using e-commerce. Hacking is by far the biggest concern, with 85 per cent worrying about their private information being stolen or misused and the same number worrying about their credit card details,” said Tolliday.

Streaming services are impacting on device ownership in the home, with penetration of digital tvs (down from 70 to 61 per cent), pay tv (down from 31 to 27 per cent) and 3D tv (down from 17  to 11 per cent) all going backwards this year.

“Netflix and other streaming services are changing the way we consume entertainment in the home. They also appear to be making us fussier. Satisfaction with home internet speeds has declined, with one in four now grumpy about how long their content takes to load,” said Tolliday.

Overseas purchases increased slightly, up from 21 to 23 per cent, but local sales continue to dominate on line. More than two thirds of Australian SMBs (67 per cent) are primarily selling to businesses in their local city or town, while only two per cent make most of their sales to overseas customers.

Of businesses with the internet, 54 per cent now sell on line, with on-line sales growing from 32 to 43 per cent of their total sales over the past four years.

“While sites such as Amazon offer consumers more choice, the falling Aussie dollar has seen overseas purchases remain steady, with less than a quarter of on-line purchases being made on overseas sites,” said Tolliday.

“From a business perspective e-commerce is increasingly important as fewer shops have a physical store front and those that do have to battle with major overseas retailers who have landed in the key shopping strips.”

Items booked or purchased online in Australia in 2016 by gender   

                                            Men       Women
Take-away food                       39%        34%
DVDs or games                       41%        26%
Electronic equipment               35%        18%
Music                                     50%        38%
Airline tickets                          65%        57%
Clothing, accessories or shoes   54%       60%
Cosmetics                               10%       22%
Groceries                                18%       20%
Books                                     34%       46%
Hairdressing appointment           2%         7%
 
Not surprisingly, the survey found that people in regional areas are much less likely to have made on-line purchases. Less than one in five booked a restaurant on line (18 regional vs 35 per cent metro) and a similar number booked a medical appointment via the web (20 regional vs 26 per cent metro). 


“While people in regional areas are less likely to make on-line purchases, when it comes to technology in the home, they are more likely to have a digital TV than their friends in the city, with ownership rates now at 65 per cent,” added Tolliday.

The new digital divide shows some interesting wrinkles

BTN News
Tuesday, 13 September 2016

Men continue to spend more than women on line, with gender stereotypes playing out: Men dominate take-away food and video game purchases, while women spend more on fashion and cosmetics, according to the 2016 Sensis eBusiness Report.


Overall, the most popular items bought on line are airline tickets (up from 47 to 53 per cent), clothing, accessories or shoes (up from 51 to 57 per cent) and hotel reservations (up from 47 to 53 per cent).


Despite again spending more than women for the year, male spending dropped significantly from A$6,500 to A$3,600, while female spending was up from A$2,400 to A$3,100.


Sensis commercial director Rob Tolliday said: “The purchasing behaviours don’t follow gender stereotypes in all cases. The number of males buying groceries jumped this year, with very little now separating males and females. And one in 10 men are now also buying cosmetics on line, which is almost half the number of women.”

The Sensis research surveyed 1,000 Australian small and medium businesses and 800 Australian consumers about their on-line experiences and found that more than seven in 10 Australians (71 per cent) made purchases on line this year, up 10 percentage points from last year.

“While more Australians are making purchases on line, they remain uneasy about using e-commerce. Hacking is by far the biggest concern, with 85 per cent worrying about their private information being stolen or misused and the same number worrying about their credit card details,” said Tolliday.

Streaming services are impacting on device ownership in the home, with penetration of digital tvs (down from 70 to 61 per cent), pay tv (down from 31 to 27 per cent) and 3D tv (down from 17  to 11 per cent) all going backwards this year.

“Netflix and other streaming services are changing the way we consume entertainment in the home. They also appear to be making us fussier. Satisfaction with home internet speeds has declined, with one in four now grumpy about how long their content takes to load,” said Tolliday.

Overseas purchases increased slightly, up from 21 to 23 per cent, but local sales continue to dominate on line. More than two thirds of Australian SMBs (67 per cent) are primarily selling to businesses in their local city or town, while only two per cent make most of their sales to overseas customers.

Of businesses with the internet, 54 per cent now sell on line, with on-line sales growing from 32 to 43 per cent of their total sales over the past four years.

“While sites such as Amazon offer consumers more choice, the falling Aussie dollar has seen overseas purchases remain steady, with less than a quarter of on-line purchases being made on overseas sites,” said Tolliday.

“From a business perspective e-commerce is increasingly important as fewer shops have a physical store front and those that do have to battle with major overseas retailers who have landed in the key shopping strips.”

Items booked or purchased online in Australia in 2016 by gender   

                                            Men       Women
Take-away food                       39%        34%
DVDs or games                       41%        26%
Electronic equipment               35%        18%
Music                                     50%        38%
Airline tickets                          65%        57%
Clothing, accessories or shoes   54%       60%
Cosmetics                               10%       22%
Groceries                                18%       20%
Books                                     34%       46%
Hairdressing appointment           2%         7%
 
Not surprisingly, the survey found that people in regional areas are much less likely to have made on-line purchases. Less than one in five booked a restaurant on line (18 regional vs 35 per cent metro) and a similar number booked a medical appointment via the web (20 regional vs 26 per cent metro). 


“While people in regional areas are less likely to make on-line purchases, when it comes to technology in the home, they are more likely to have a digital TV than their friends in the city, with ownership rates now at 65 per cent,” added Tolliday.