Gender shopping behaviour differences

Keep in mind which gender you are targeting and respond to male and female shopping habits differently. Consider these differences and use it in your email marketing to sell more effectively.

Women spend more on online shopping than men

Females shop online more frequently than men and they tend to spend more money. Searches aren’t limited to only the thing that initially interested them and they click through eCommerce websites 30% more than men. That makes women a great target of your email marketing campaigns. Women are more spontaneous in nature and it’s reflected in their online purchases.Online shopping is, for women, an enjoyable leisurely activity. They tend to check their emails in the evenings or during the weekends when they have free time. This is valuable information, useful when choosing the appropriate time to send your campaigns.At FreshMail, we found out that email opens among women subscribers peak between 6pm and 9pm. It’s worth checking if the same pattern will repeat among your female subscribers.

Men are more active in m-shopping

We could say that men adopt new technologies faster. The same trend is visible in m-shopping. The best way to appeal to gender needs as a retailer, is to offer a seamless transition between email and your store on mobile. This means that not only should your website be adapted to mobile customers but also your email campaigns should be responsive.In this infographic, you can find out how to design a responsive email.

Men do multi-device shopping slightly more often than women

Desktop purchases still remain central in eCommerce, however, the multidevice approach to online shopping is growing. From both genders, men are slightly more comfortable using a range of devices when purchasing online.When you think of a smartphone more of an instrument for getting to the point of buying a product, rather than a tool for the actual purchase, you can use your email marketing campaigns and plant a seed of future purchases in your customer's mind.If your subscriber converts from mobile to your e-store but then leaves and decides to finish the purchase later, you’re putting yourself at risk of a growing number of abandoned carts.

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Making the shopping cart and checkout experience as convenient as possible to avoid this, may not be enough. Use automated emails strategies for dealing with abandoned carts.Don’t wait any more than 24 hours before you send abandoned cart reminder out. You don’t want your customer to forget the items they were willing to purchase. If you won’t get a response from your first autoresponder, don’t hesitate to send your final offer after a few days. Include a discount or a free delivery and direct link to the abandoned cart. 28% of both genders expect a cart reminder email to come with a discount code because the main reason they left without making a purchase is that the final price scared them away.

Dollar Shave Club, email subject line: Where did you go

Women are hunting for a prize

Limited promotions increase the frequency of unplanned, spontaneous decisions to buy online, which is quite common amongst ladies. Women are more into seasonal sales than men, special deals and final cut prices. They are savvy savers and they see online shopping as a hunting ritual where they can expect a prize. The main reason they like online shopping so much is the promise of finding better deals and lower prices than in-store. This is also the reason they sign up to receive marketing emails so they can be the first to learn about special offers. This insight is often used by online retailers in their opt-ins.

Tommy Hilfiger's newsletter sign-up

With all eyes on a prize, women tend to be more comprehensive and take both subjective information (like customer reviews) and objective information (like product features) into consideration when shopping online. Customer reviews and testimonials help to answer questions and make new female customers more confident about their purchases. Here’s an example of a Bottica email It’s a smart move to show customer reviews not only on a website but also in an email marketing campaign.

Women return products more often

Girls purchase more, but they also return products more often than men. That is why it is important to have your return policy in a prominent position on your website. It’s also good practice to always leave a spot for it in your newsletter footer.Your female subscribers will be more willing to use your offer if they have a returns policy in mind.

Both men and women use social media when shopping online

Social media is flourishing nowadays and it has a strong position in an eCommerce marketing strategy. The nation of social shoppers is growing. 2.5 million Brits say they are buying daily from a mobile device with the biggest mobile shoppers also being heavy social media users. Their favourite platforms are Snapchat (64% have bought on mobile) and Instagram (56% have bought on mobile).Be present on the most engaging social media platforms and integrate your email marketing efforts with your social media strategy. You will build an engaged and loyal community of online customers and brand lovers. Encouraging your social media followers to join your email list can convert your casual buyers into customers. Make your strategy work both ways by implementing social media buttons into your newsletter and showcasing user-generated content from social media in your marketing emails.

Colours have a notable impact on both genders

The majority of consumers report that colour is the most important factor that influences their selection of everyday items. This is why you have to be careful to choose colours for your newsletters that match your message.

• Blue is the most common favourite colour amongst both men and women.
• Males prefer brighter colours, while women prefer softer tones.
• 20% of women named brown as their least favourite colour.

The colour also plays a role in your CTA button. This small survey conducted by ReallyGoodEmails will help you choose the appropriate one for your next campaign.

Men tend to react better to recommendations based on their past purchases

When you’re utilising email marketing automation, CRM systems and analytics, you’ll have the data you need at your fingertips to target your subscribers with offers based on their previous purchases or behaviour shown on your site.You can Up-sell and increase revenue by sending to your customer's recommendations of products based on their real interests. Men tend to react stronger on such offers.Look at the recommendation system on Amazon. It provides the best example of how purchase history and behavioural data makes it possible to customise your page and also your marketing emails. You can do the same using dynamic content and adapt your regular emails to various recipients. All of them will have part of the email which is the same for all subscribers, but dynamic content will let you generate a part of a message that changes depending on the products you want to recommend to a certain subscriber.

Women want to feel special

Women rely on their emotion stronger than men. That’s why they want to know how your products and your brand, in general, are going to make them feel. To fit into female shoppers’ expectations, you should put their needs first, offer help and then present suitable products.Women demand authenticity so the brands that want to engage with them must speak genuinely. A great example of a marketing campaign directed at women is Luvs Sanitize commercial: In the video, you can see that motherhood is tough, but the first kid certainly makes you an expert. Every Mum watching this spot can say: “Yeah, that’s so me!” - and this is how an emotional connection with a brand is made.Your female-targeted email campaigns should not be wrapped around the product features but aim to sell an emotion.

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Email TopShop, source Pinterest