Article
Warm and Social Websites Attract Women More Than Men
by Peter Wilson, Vancouver Sun July 27 2006

Websites with a warm and social environment -- and definite signs that others have already been there and left their comments -- are more appealing to women shoppers than men, says a new study.

Women like to return to sites where they can leave their opinion or chat with others using the site at the same time, said study leader Dianne Cyr, of Simon Fraser University's faculty of business.

They also want photos and logos and not just pure text, said Cyr, whose team designed websites containing some or all of these elements and then tested them with 185 students at SFU and McMaster University in Hamilton.

"Social presences was also important for men, but it was more important for women," said Cyr in an interview from SFU's new Surrey campus.  "While it raised the level of satisfaction for men, it bore no relationship as to whether they would go back to the site."

Cyr said the study's main finding showed that a perceived social presence ultimately led users to enjoy the site more, find it more useful and be more likely to return.

"So if I were designing a website I would be thinking that if I infuse the site with these characteristics then, in fact, people will like it more and come back," said Cyr, who added that the study was just one in a series on developing trust at e-business sites.

In order to arrive at their conclusions Cyr and her colleagues designed five different pop music ticket sites called Concertfinder.ca.  The first site contained just text.  Other sites contained progressively more elements until site five included all of the elements of a comfortable social environment.

They then had students, randomly assigned to the five sites, explore the site and fill out a survey.

While men tended to come up with practical observations - lack of a digital certificate on the site, no seating charts and the need for an "about" page and a contact page - women tended to express their feelings about the sites in terms of enjoyment.

Some said the site was "boring, not enough pictures, no sense of vibrancy" or that it had "no emotion, does not evoke any response." 

Those who encountered the page with the most social interaction said they "felt relaxed and enjoyed reading it" and that it felt "more like a party chat room than a cold, impersonal website, just selling stuff, tickets" .

Said the study:  "These comments support our findings that females appear to be seeking warmth, sociability and enjoyment as part of their website experience, in the context of e-Services.

Cyr, whose website at www.diannecyr.com contains the full paper, added that, given the findings of this study, firms might also consider using more women web designers when they create their sites. 

A full look at the research over the past few years by Cyr's group can be found at www.eloyalty.ca

More reads:

Cyr, D., Hassanein, K., Head, M. and Ivanov, A. (2006).
The Role of Social Presence in Establishing Loyalty in e-Service Environments. Interacting with Computers.
Special Issue on Moving Face-to-Face Communication to Web-based Communication.
download PDF

Cyr, D., and Bonanni, C. (2005).
Gender and Website Design in E-Business.
International Journal of Electronic Business, 3(6), 565-582.
download PDF

What My Customers
are Saying

Wow! Web site looks GREAT, Barb! Lovely use of highlights, colours, shading, etc.

And did you turn that around FAST...Looks like it's going to be great event!
-- Eric Hellman

Congratulations on the new and improved website! ... the new look and feel is great; in line with the established look but certainly cleaner and more functional.
-- Cathy Beaumont

What a tremendous contribution you have made to bring the Workplace Centre to "front and centre" of the spiritual community.
-- Conrad Guelke

Thanks for the great job you have done in shifting our marketing paradigm and quietly coaxing us into a new world of email blasting. … All has been said so well by others...I love it and all it represents…

The format for these two events is buzzing with energy -- makes a person want to pole-vault off the couch and respond NOW!! …

What helpful knowledge and creativity you are bringing to us! Thanx for your contribution.
-- Gloria McCarter

Great job Barb. Kudos on noticeably improving the quality and effectiveness of the Emails that we send out. The increase in attendance that we have seen at recent events is a testament to the positive effect that you have had on our organization.
– David Waterfall

You're awesome! Where do you find this stuff? I imagine you with a computer strapped onto your back at all times... thanks for being so good at what you do, and so very professional about it. Newletter looks awesome, BTW
-- Jen Wasmund

Thank you Barb. you are wonderful… you are a star. …you have brought us into the 21st Century.
-- David Hughes

You have a great way with words ... Thank you so much, Barb!
-- Shelley Page

It is amazing how you come up with this stuff for us Barb.
-- Jim Evans

Congratulations Barb. You've given us a really proud and positive self-image to live up to!
-- Donna Martin

you are such an inspiration to me. Your sharing last night was awesome. Thanks for a moment of serenity in my day.
-- Wendy Pitt-Brooke