By A Correspondent
Google India has released its report on a study titled ‘Women & Web’ to understand internet usage pattern and its influence on purchase decisions of women internet users in India. The study was compiled by looking at search query data for top women-oriented search categories in India and independent online research done by TNS Australia, which reached out to over 1,000 women with access to the internet in India.
Out of the total 150 million internet users in the country, around 60 million women in India are now online and use the internet to manage their day to day life. With easy access to internet at homes, cyber cafes, offices and growing adoption of smart phones, internet is being used by women for a variety of things. The study revealed that women who are online are relatively more affluent and younger. 3 in 4 women in SEC AB are now online and 75 percent are in the 15-34 age group, with over 24 million women accessing the internet daily.
In terms of top searched categories by women on Google in India, apparel & accessories was the biggest search category followed by food & drink, baby care, hair care & skincare. The study revealed that – Skincare, hair care, food & drink were the fastest growing search categories, with queries coming from mobile phones growing rapidly and accounting for almost 25 percent of total query volumes in these categories.
The study also revealed data on the growing influence of digital medium on women’s purchase decisions for these categories. Data from the online research conducted by TNS Australia, highlighted that among women who had access to internet, over 50 percent said that internet research influenced their decision before finalizing a product. In terms of most researched category and influence on final purchase decisions – internet influence was the highest for skin care (72%), baby care (69%) and hair care (65%) products.
Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director, Google India said, “With this report, it is clear that the internet is empowering Indian women with easy access to information and helping them to make more informed decisions in their day-to-day life. The top generic searches and most searched brands reflect that women are heavily engaged on the internet and are using it to do online research before deciding on their final purchase for categories like skin, hair and baby care products.”
In terms of online activity, email, search and social networking were the biggest drivers for women. Downloading music, looking for educational content, job search, watching videos and consuming news were the other top activities. The report also indicated adoption of ecommerce by women in India, with 1 in 4 shoppers buying baby products online. Women also emerged as strong brand advocates – with 80 percent saying that they recommend their purchases to other women and 25 percent stating that they share it online.
Video on the web also emerged as one the key drivers of internet usage among women in India, with women accounting for 40 percent of the total monthly YouTube user base in India. Apart from music videos, TV shows and film content, beauty & fashion videos were popular among women on YouTube. Education, health and fitness, home care & cooking were also rated among the top 10 video content categories of choice on YouTube.
The study was compiled by Google India, by combining Google search query data in India for apparel & accessories, food & drinks, baby care, hair care & skincare product categories along with TNS Australia research conducted online of over 1000 women in the age group of 18 to 65 and industry reports. The search query data was compiled for the period of one year starting from April 2012 to March 2013. Other data sources include TGI & IRS.
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Apparels & Accessories – International |
Apparels & Accessories – Indian |
Foods & Beverages |
Baby Care |
Hair Care |
SkinCare & Cosmetics |
| Zara | Fastrack | Coca Cola | Firstcry | Loreal | Oriflame |
| Ray Ban | Tanishq | Amul | Babyoye | Livon | Lakme |
| Victoria’s Secret | Fab India | Cadbury | Babycenter | Tresemme | Maybelline |
| Louis Vuitton | Van Heusen | Pepsi | Hushbabies | Sunsilk | Loreal |
| Swarovski | Chennai Silks | Maggi | Johnsons Baby | Pantene | Avon |