• by April 7, 2005

Guess what? Women make up the majority of Internet users in the United States and their influence online is growing, according to a new report from eMarketer.

The report, "Women Online in the U.S.: A Growing Majority," maintains that marketers need to organize their online efforts with women in mind because women comprise 51.6 percent of the U.S. online population. In fact, by 2008, women will account for 52.6 percent of total online users in the United States, according to eMarketer estimates. In absolute numbers, that means that in 2008 there will be roughly 10 million more females ages 3 and over online in the United States than males.

"While the ratio of women to men in the general U.S. population is expected to hold steady at least through 2008, that won't be the case on the Internet," says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the report, in a statement. "Cultural, societal, and Internet business trends are combining to shift the balance more firmly toward women. Because of these factors, eMarketer projects that the female majority online will have a transformative effect on content, commerce, and marketing."

Women can have a huge impact on the world of online retailing. In the offline world, women are said to influence more than three-quarters of household expenditures.

"As more women are drawn online, their sheer numbers will force companies to communicate with them on their terms, in their own language," Williamson says. "The onus is on Web marketers, retailers, and content sites to make sure they are thinking of women when they design their sites and their online marketing -- even if women aren't their primary target."

With that in mind, we all know that online advertising is burgeoning. A reminder: Of the $9.5 billion spent on online advertising in 2004, $4.2 billion, or 38 percent was spent on branding efforts, including display ads, sponsorships, and rich media, according to eMarketer. Broadband, estimated to be in 36 percent of all U.S. homes by year-end, is driving online usage, escalating time spent, as well as the use of streaming video and audio.