Women Read Online Reviews - Men Don't, Postcode Anywhere Research Shows

WORCESTER, England, October 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Ecommerce study shows men have different buying behaviour to women - and think less of online reviews

Women value other people's opinions more highly than men and are "significantly more likely" to respond to customer reviews when shopping online, according to new research by ecommerce optimisation specialist Postcode Anywhere.

The survey of 1,000 UK consumers found 36% more women than men rated customer reviews as "very important" in their online shopping process. Equally, 22% more men than women classified customer reviews as "not important at all," or "more unimportant than important."

Postcode Anywhere's sales and marketing director Phil Rothwell said: "The poll agrees with a number of recent studies implying men prefer to read product descriptions and specifications than pore over online reviews. It has also been suggested that men respond less well to interaction in the buying process and are less concerned about the overall experience than women.

"Any man who's got hopelessly lost and still refused to ask for directions will suspect women are happier to seek the advice and help of others. It would appear the same behaviour applies online, where women are significantly more likely to see the importance of customer reviews.

"But why are men less keen on them? Ultimately, it would seem men are less social when it comes to shopping. The survey suggests they're less concerned with the overall experience, less likely to want interaction when buying goods, and more likely to want to buy the products straight away.

"The buying process is still incredibly important across the board, but typically men are more likely to want to get in there, buy the product, and get out again - as quickly as they can."

The news follows last week's report from Postcode Anywhere that concerns about security and frustration with time-consuming forms are the top two reasons for online shopping cart abandonment.

Postcode Anywhere's managing director Guy Mucklow said: "As a supplier of rapid address auto-fill, we are a long-time advocate of making things simpler online. Whatever demographics you use to classify your customer base - and even using the broadest of brushstrokes by segmenting men and women - people will always want the easiest and least painful internet shopping experience possible.

"It's the responsibility of the online retailers to make sure that for those who've made up their minds, they can log on and check out as quickly and efficiently as they can."

When asked how they perceived online reviews, 106 men and 145 women out of the 1,000 polled said they were "very important."

Postcode Anywhere provides a range of services to make ecommerce easier and more profitable, including rapid address auto-fill, payment validation, "where's my nearest?" store finder services and demographic profiling.

For more information about Postcode Anywhere, please visit http://www.postcodeanywhere.com.

Notes for editors

About Postcode Anywhere

Postcode Anywhere supplies software and services which improve the day-to-day operations of over 8,000 organisations worldwide. Best known as a provider of address auto-fill and verification software, the company offers a range of data-driven services, including route planning, customer profiling and bank account validation. It is now the fastest-growing reseller of Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF®) and the market leader for online address auto-fill. A multi-award-winning organisation, it has also appeared in Deloitte's European fast-growth technology company list for three years running. For more information about Postcode Anywhere, please visit http://www.postcodeanywhere.com.

Recent Awards and Recognition for Postcode Anywhere

• Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA 2008/9, 2009/10 & 2010/11
• Red Herring Top 100 Europe - 2010
• Best Small IT Supplier of the Year - UK IT Industry Awards (finalist) - 2009
• Dell Small Business Excellence Award (UK finalist) - 2009
• Small-Medium Sized Business of the Year (regional finalist) - National Business Awards 2009
• Orange Best Use of Technology (Midlands) - 2008 National Business Awards
• Growth Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
• Small Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
• Customer Service Team of the Year (finalist) - National Customer Services Awards 2008

Media contact for Postcode Anywhere
Jim Williams - PR Manager
jim@postcodeanywhere.com
+44(0)1905-888-562

Press centre at: http://www.postcodeanywhere.com/press