Men take over UK’s online high street

With the speed and convenience of online shopping, a new breed of shopper has been born.  In a recent Online Retail Report conducted by Experian, UK men have began to dominate the online high street, outspending women by an average of £672.  But why has there been this shift in spending?

Online shopping is quick and easily

For a majority of men (and some women), the thought of trolling through sale racks on a busy high street on a Saturday is akin to Dante’s forth circle of hell.  Online shopping is a great alternative and is an easy way to compare and research products before buying them. 

Currently 55% of online shoppers are men and their numbers are growing.  Since 2006, over 800,000 men started shopping online for the first time, twice the number of new women shoppers.  And according to the report, 4 in 10 men plan to shop for the majority of their purchases online in the future.  This shopping trend has already begun to shape the way we design and use websites.

Websites are returning to simple and functional designs

“Our impatience has helped drive a revolution in how websites are designed,” says Scheible. “Gone are the days of elaborate graphics that take an age to load – and drive customers away to better designed sites.

With British consumers fixed to double their online expenditures to £21.3 billion by end of 2011, it’s important as ever to look at how money is spent online and who is doing it.  As men spend more online on everything from travel to health and beauty, expect the face of online shopping to continue to change and grow to accommodate the needs of this new breed of shopper.