SheSpeaks: Social media strong driver of purchase behavior among women

In their 2nd Annual Social Media Study SheSpeaks, a social media platform that creates and operates consumer insights and influencer communities, discovered that women have truly embraced social networks.

A significant number, 86%, have a social network profile, up 48% on last year. Facebook is by far the network of choice, with 95% of women with social profiles belonging to the network, up 46% from one year ago. Women's participation in MySpace, on the other hand, is down from last year's 63% to 42%.

Not only are women using social media to catch up with friends and family, they are now becoming arenas in which purchase decisions are researched and made, found the study (.pdf). Over half (53%) of women say they have purchased a product because of a blog post and 43% as a result of information found via a social network. Both those figures are up from 27% last year.

"Last year our members were going online primarily to research purchases, but now they are looking to social media to help them research, guide and facilitate every kind of transaction, from social exchanges to purchases," said Aliza Freud, Founder and CEO of SheSpeaks.

"Women have become more comfortable using social media, and for marketers, the overall growth and habitual use of social media represents opportunities to reach and engage women of all ages, and influence their purchase decisions."

Tags: female, online behavior, purchase decisions, SheSpeaks.com, social media, social networks, women