• by April 10, 2001

We know that women outnumber men on the Web. It's time advertisers took advantage of that knowledge. A new study by Millward Brown suggests that as the primary decision-maker in household purchases, online women represent a crucial market for advertisers, especially in the consumer packaged goods arena.

The study suggests that women take to the Net to look for actionable offers or relevant product information, and that a sizable chunk of this information-gathering comes from ads.

According to the study, 60% of study respondents said they click on banner ads to acquire more information, while 34% go back to an advertiser's site at some point after viewing the ad online.

Seventy-eight percent of those polled said they use the Internet to get product information before they make a purchase. Additionally, more than 60% said they felt the Internet saves time, while 33% say they do online research before buying consumer packaged goods offline.

The study also surveyed the behavior of about 900 new moms -- a key demographic for many consumer packaged goods companies. About 32% of the new mothers said they shop offline less often, preferring to shop online in many cases.

New moms, more so than the general women segment, also said they seek expert advice and are more likely to visit sites devoted to family, kids and online games.