Women Expand Influence in Digital Landscape

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Worldwide, women account for almost half (46%) of all Internet traffic, and more than half of their time online is devoted to "connecting" activities such as social networking, email, blogging and instant messaging. Understanding the emotional connections women have with the Web, and how that differs from region to region is critical for companies who are marketing to women online, this according to findings from a recent study by TNS, a Kantar company and part of WPP (NASDAQ:WPPGY).

Supported by TNS's Digital Life Study, (www.tnsdigitallife.com) TNS examined different types of online activity, comparing usage patterns by gender, and determined that women have equally or surpassed their male counterparts in eight of eleven distinct areas. Women spend thirty-six (36) more minutes per week on social media, eighteen (18) more minutes shopping and six (6) more minutes on email, organizing and personal interests than men.  Internet interests for men encompass online gaming (48 more minutes than women), catching up on news (42 more minutes than women) and multi-media viewing (6 more minutes than women per week).

While the general gender communication trend holds constant around the world (women communicating online more than men), regional differences are apparent. Latin American women devoted the most time of any region to digital discussions, more than two-thirds of their online time, followed by European women at 54%, U.S. women at 45% and Asia Pacific women at 38%.

The emotional connections women have with the Internet also plays out differently across global markets. Women in developing markets are more than twice as likely as peers in developed nations to say they express their feelings more freely in the online world where political, cultural and religious strictures do not apply.

"Women have expanded their sphere of influence to the digital mainstream," said Brian Cooper, Vice President at TNS.  "Understanding their emotional connections with the web, and how that differs from region to region is critical. The more messaging aligns with the media and motivations the more it will likely be received and acted upon."

The research was presented at ESOMAR's 3D Digital Dimension Conference in Miami FL on October 27, 2011 and is based in part on findings from TNS Digital Life, TNS Mobile Life and Yahoo! Connectonomics.

About TNS

TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and stakeholder management, based on long-established expertise and market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world's consumers than anyone else and understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of the world.

TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups.

Please visit www.tns-us.com for more information.

About Kantar
Kantar is one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups. By uniting the diverse talents of its 13 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 28,500 employees work across 100 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle. The group's services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.

For further information, please visit us at www.kantar.com.

SOURCE TNS