Generally speaking the answer to that question is no. However recent research by iProspect shows that men’s shopping online and particularly on mobile has surpassed that of women. As the economy is slowly but surely improving, men’s shopping is generally on the upswing, but online its a different story.
It turns out that men are flocking online and are realizing that they do in fact like to shop. The type of man shopping online the most is affluent, earning in excess of $100,000 a year, is technology savvy and knows what he wants. 70% of the male shoppers online fit into this ‘affluent male’ category. They like to spend time thoroughly researching before buying products online and mobile has made this even more convenient. It makes sense. I can’t imagine that men are fond of rummaging in stores, looking for the perfect bargain item in the sale bin or having to ask a sales rep questions.
This infographic from iProspect, maps out who the affluent man is and how he shops. The are connected on multiple devices. The fact that 77% of these men own a smartphone and 50% own a tablet is significant. 52% of affluent males, don’t have children, but actually according to the U.S. Census Bureau, men are also staying single longer, meaning they have more income to spend on themselves.
Fashion is actually the fastest growing online segment and is being propelled by, you guessed it – men. While women’s share of the online clothing market is still more than double men’s, the men’s market is growing faster, at a 13 percent annual rate compared with 10 percent for women, according to NPD Group, a consumer tracking service. And that growth gap is seen by many as about to get wider. Online retailers have made shopping easy, convenient and sites like Amazon (where a staggering 41% of affluent males shop) is exactly the sort of website that provides all the information abut a product in writing, plus customer reviews for someone to quickly make an informed decision about whether to buy or not. When it comes to clothing specifically, some sites even started to make recommendations based on personality or ship a trunk full of clothes to a man’s home and allows him to pick what he wants.
I found myself asking so what has changed? Well perhaps men have always liked to buy and own things, but they just don’t like shopping. The whole process of shopping is better designed for women, who like to browse. We even get men bragging about new purchases on Twitter, sharing and recommending on Facebook and pictures on Instagram. It makes one wonder if men have been largely ignored in past and now feel liberated with this new shopping experience.
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