A Word of Caution: Analyzing Gender Through Google Analytics
A Word of Caution: Analyzing Gender Through Google Analytics
Male vs. female online shopping behavior
Studies demonstrate that gender significantly influences online shopping behavior. As a result, analyzing male and female behavior on websites can be a strategic approach to optimize sales. However, when utilizing Google Analytics for this purpose, there are some critical considerations.
Google Analytics provides the functionality to compare data between males and females, as demonstrated in the referenced table. For instance, it shows 4,700 female visitors versus 15,000 male visitors. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand that these numbers do not represent the complete data set.
Gender Uncategorized
A closer look at the overall visitor count, which amounts to 111,000 as seen in the following table, reveals that a large majority, about 91,000, is not categorized by gender. Hence, while it might seem that there are more male visitors, this majority remains uncategorized, rendering any comparison between male and female visitors less meaningful.
One might be tempted to extrapolate the available data, assuming a 3:1 ratio of male to female visitors. However, without the gender categorization of the remaining visitors, you have to make an educated guess on whether or not you should rely on this data.
The bottom line
When utilizing Google’s male vs. female statistics, always ensure to check the total visitor count to gauge the accuracy of the provided data. With this careful approach, you can ensure a more accurate and meaningful analysis of your website’s user behavior.