Though men enjoy the reputation of being more tech-savvy than women, women are the ones that drive consumer spending. This is of particular interest on the web where women’s search habits can determine many retail companies’ marketing strategy, as well as websites’ usability and aesthetic focus.
Pinterest’s meteoric rise presents a perfect example of women’s influence on the web. Pinterest functions as a sort of virtual pin wall, where users can share the things they love, things they are inspired by, ideas for weddings and decorating and a slew of other interests. Users can use this slick, photo-laden website with ease and organize their “pins” in compartments.
The lack of text and bookmarked sites allows for clutter-free organization. Pinterest’s rise to 10 million monthly visitors came quicker than Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. In November of 2011, Pinterest had 4.9 million U.S. visitors. Four months later, the site has 17.8 million U.S. visitors alone.
Not unlike many new web companies, Pinterest is not yet profitable but its reputation and credibility are well-entrenched. In one survey, 81% of respondents gave their stamp of trust to Pinterest vs. 73% and 67% for Twitter and Facebook, respectively.
Pinterest is quickly becoming the go-to site for garnering product information, learning of new products, sharing ideas with friends and having a good time. It is also driving purchases, with 47% of respondents stating that they have purchased an item based on a Pinterest recommendation.
Pinterest goes against the notion that most start-ups’ early users are men under 35. On Pinterest, 68% of users are women which drive 85% of all traffic to the site and more than half of female users are over 35.
Facebook, the world’s largest online social network, helped Pinterest along by integrating it into Facebook in January. This move, Facebook says, led to a 60% increase in Pinterest users.
Women are much more likely than men to use social networks to connect with friends and share ideas and events, while men are more likely to use phone or voice communication.
This debunks the myth that women lag behind men in terms of web use. Research firms are beginning to understand the enormous influence that women and the sites that they visit has on consumer spending and market strategy.
Michelle Mayer is blogger at Mijo! Brands in Mexico.
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