Regular users of the Internet are turning to cyberspace as the place of first resort for the information they need to make important decisions, from living healthier lives to improving their personal
relationships, according to the Unilever E-Consumer Report: Information Gathering on the Web conducted by Cyber Dialogue. In fact, 52% of women surveyed credit the information found on the Internet
with helping them lead a healthier life. One out of four women respondents believe their appearance has improved because of beauty and personal care information they have found online. "For women
online, the Web has become a trusted source and a purveyor of advice for making decisions on a daily basis, including those involving deeply personal issues," said Mark Olney, VP of the Unilever
Interactive Brand Center (IBC), a unit responsible for developing interactive strategies for Unilever brands. Women who regularly use the Internet have come to regard it as a "first filter" for
timely and important information, according to the survey. In many instances, they turn to it before resorting to magazines, books or the advice of experts or friends. Almost two-thirds of respondents
(61% of women and 65% of men) seek health information on the Internet before consulting their physician. More active online users turn to the Web for food information weekly (37%) than to any other
source; and monthly, more women get food information online (40%) than they do from books (35%). As a weekly source of family and relationship information, the Internet was second only to friends
and relatives, beating out magazines, books and newspapers as a major resource. And as a monthly source, 43% of women consumers who sought this information did so on the Web, making it a more popular
resource than friends and relatives (31%). Surfers said the Internet is reshaping their lifestyles. Many are beginning to understand the Internet's capabilities as a tool for working out of the
home. They said it functions far better at this than they thought it would. The Web is also changing how people relate to companies. More than half of highly active online consumers are open to
receiving free samples (83% of women and 67% of men) and special money-saving offers (66% of women and 59% of men) from companies without giving permission first.
Many utilize the Internet more
for window shopping and researching a product than they do for transactions. Respondents ranked shopping as the third primary reason for which they turn to the Internet, but rated it fifth in its
ability to deliver on this promise. Both genders see wireless technology as the wave of the future, according to the survey. While the penetration of wireless handheld technology is relatively low
(just 4% among highly active women Internet users and 16% of men), nearly two out of five women said they intend to own a handheld device with Internet access. Both women and men would turn to
wireless Internet access for many
