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Men Check Out Luxury Cars; Women Look at Practical

The Center for Media Research pointed to some interesting research this week pertaining to women's and men's preferences when visiting automotive Web sites.  According to Hitwise, women comprised 40 percent of visits to automotive Web sites for the four weeks ending  March 19, 2005. The research reveals that although the car buyers are often thought of in the man's domain, women are actually the majority to several sites delivering information about automotive finance, registration and vehicle insurance.  This type of information is extremely valuable to marketers.  And with all the new digital consumer commentary appearing on the Internet, companies can capture even more detailed and unaided consumer requirements for product design and execution.

The Hitwise report also reveals that in contrast to women's preferences, men are more likely to visit online auctions, forums and enthusiast groups.

Bill Tancer, vice president of research, Hitwise, said "The higher tendency of men to seek out car sites geared toward knowledgeable enthusiasts would be expected, however the fact that women are comprising the clear majority to many other major auto segments is a valuable insight."

Top 5 Automotive & Manufacturers Web Sites* with the highest proportion of Males and Females. (4 Weeks Ending March 19, 2005)

MALE

Auto Sites

Male Visitors

Auto Mfg. Sites

Male Visitors

www.manheim.com

75.90%

www.ferrariworld.com

72.78%

www.iaai-bid.com

73.80%

www.landroverusa.com

67.47%

www.honda-tech.com

73.65%

www.us.porsche.com

66.75%

www.VWvortex.com

72.44%

www.bmwusa.com

64.26%

www.copart.com

70.38%

www.jaguarusa.com

61.44%

Source: Hitwise Online Automotive Report, March 2005

 

FEMALE

Auto Sites

Female Visitors

Auto Mfg. Sites

Female Visitors

www.americredit.com

60.94%

www.mini.com

57.48%

www.aaa.com

57.21%

www.saturn.com

53.13%

store.nascar.com

56.24%

www.hyundai-motor.com

52.59%

www.dmv.org

56.23%

www.kia.com

51.09%

www.esurance.com

53.99%

www.mercedes-benz.com

49.66%

Source: Hitwise Online Automotive Report, March 2005

*From top 100 sites for specified category. Does not include car rental sites, duplicate sites, or sites for motorcycle, RV, or parts manufacturers.

You can find a copy of the Hitwise online Automotive Report here (registration required).

Posted by Cymfony on April 7, 2005 at 09:50 AM | Email this post Permalink

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