Women play Santa, men play Scrooge in online shopping, study says

Among online buyers, 60% of women are ready to begin their holiday shopping, compared to 42% of men, according to a September study conducted by BizRate Research for comparison shopping site Shopzilla.com.

BizRate Research also found that females make 68% of online purchases, up from 64% a year ago. “Not surprisingly, women typically identify more with Santa Clause (55%), while less than half the men surveyed (46%) report feeling like the jolly figurehead.” Men are more likely than are women to identify with Ebineezer Scrooge, 9% to 3%, the study found.

BizRate, a division of Shopzilla Inc., based its study on a survey of 2,456 online buyers from Sept. 23 through Sept. 26.

The study also found:
• Including both women and men, 57% of online shoppers like to browse and purchase gifts during weekends and nights;
• 86% of online shoppers have purchased gifts online in the past, while 30% say they make most of their gift purchases online;
• 82% shop online to save time and for the freedom to shop at any time of night;
• 71% shop online to avoid crowds; • 52% shop online to get the best deals.