Gender Gap

For those of you who hew to the stereotype of women as über-shoppers, a recent AOL survey of 6,250 consumers offers some eye-opening facts. It reports that men browse online an average of 31 times a month, compared to 22 times for women; make 20% more of their purchases online; are bigger spenders, willing to lavish $1,751 on a single item, in contrast to women’s frugal $787; are more inclined than women are (42% vs. 35%) to shop for luxury goods; and generally spend more money online each month, racking up a bill of $204 to the average woman’s $186. But wait, there’s more: Men are less interested in buying online because of Internet bargains (74% versus 78% of women) , and they are likely to spend more of their money on gifts. The most generous guys are to be found in Seattle, where the average man planned to spend $771 during the 2004 holiday season. The most generous women, residents of Hartford, CT, come off as miserly by comparison, with their average holiday budget of $646.