Online Marketing Communications

ABSTRACT To explore gender differences in Internet advertising, this study analyzes gender in relation to interactivity. Specifically, assessments of commercial Web sites help clarify the role of gender for online consumer behavior, its effect on interactivity and advertising effectiveness, and the implications for online marketing communications. This exploration relies on dimensions of consumers’ online behavior and consumers’ beliefs about the interactive communication environment in relation to three types of features: human-to-human, human-to-computer, and human-to-content. The investigation of gender differences in Internet advertising uses both computer observations with screen-capturing software and a survey. The study subjects are college-aged students, or Generation Y, a group of consumers who tend to go online in great numbers, have considerable spending power, and are computer savvy.

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