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Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy
Written by Wendy Piersall
2008 has given us all a shakeup. We have a fragile economy unlike anything we have seen in 80 years. And the online advertising and technology industry is in for a rough ride in 2009. But 2008 was also the Year of the Woman online. Over the last 18 months, the number of ad networks targeted towards moms and women exploded. Some high-profile players entered the space, notable examples include iVillage’s partial buy-in of BlogHer, and Circle of Moms growth to 850K registered Facebook application users in less than 2 months.
2009 is a make-it-or-break-it year for nearly every business in existence today. And as for women’s websites and communities, we at Escalate Media think this industry is also in for a bit of a shakeup:
1 – Women’s Ad Networks
We think that if any of the advertising industries are well positioned to weather the economic storm, it is the online ad industry. Newspapers and outdoor media will continue to suffer, but online media has the track record to convince advertisers to move more dollars online. Yet since advertisers will have less dollars to begin with, we’ll see only moderate growth in the online ad space.
I personally think there are too many ad networks targeted towards women and moms right now. All of them have inventory problems and some are only taking in new publishers under more restrictive terms, if at all. I think bigger players are going to take advantage of the fact that they can buy more with less and we will see some consolidation of the women’s ad networks in ‘09.
2 – Women’s Social Networks
If there are too many women’s ad networks, then we have an epidemic of social networks for women, especially moms. With tighter VC funding, we’ll see less startups in this space (thank god). And only the strongest of the existing destinations will be able to weather the storm. Yet, those that serve a tight niche, that have great content, or are tied to recession-proof markets will do particularly well. Women love connecting with other women, and will do it even more in ‘09.
In fact, the top three activities women engage in online are shopping, reading the news, and socializing via social networks and online communities. This is great news for women’s social sites.
3 – Number of Women Online
History predicts that this number can only go up as computers and internet access become more widely available. Add to that an economy that forces us to keep our entertainment budgets to a minimum, and I predict 2009 sees a bigger jump in women online than predicted.
4 – Social Media Marketing
Since social communities are here to stay, and women are extremely active in these communities, companies and brands are getting to the point where they can’t ignore social media marketing any more. In 2009, we are going to hit the crossover point in which those who are still afraid of social media marketing are going to be left behind if they don’t jump in now.
Nowhere is this more evident than it is on Twitter, where the election forced mainstream news agencies to embrace the medium. Brands who were early adopters such as Dell, Zappos, and Comcast are now the subject of numerous case studies with data to back up their efforts. Quite frankly, I find it astonishing that Walmart, Kmart and Sears beat Target to the punch and have all had a presence on Twitter whereas Target is nowhere to be found. They need to move beyond the walls of their controlled “Momversation” if they are going to keep their market edge.
5 – Beyond Advertising
Even if online ad spending doesn’t take a big hit in 2009, it doesn’t mean that online companies aren’t going to prepare themselves for the worst. Only strong business models can survive an economic storm like the one we are in. So we bet that you will start seeing more products, services and incentives from sites that were 100% advertising based in the past.
Enter the era of the social shopping network. Companies are taking clues from successful product blogs (like Engadget), social networks (Facebook), and shopping comparison sites (Shopping.com) & mixing it up to find new ways to generate revenue off of site visitors.
6 – Companies will Lean on Recession-Proof Industries
There were a few bright spots in this incredibly dismal holiday shopping season. While nearly all retailers tumbled, WalMart & Amazon rocked. Macy’s can’t get rid of merchandise at 60% off, but craft retailers like Jo-Ann and Michael’s were a surprise hit as shoppers decided to make more presents this year instead of buying them.
Health & skin care, groceries & cooking, children’s clothing and educational products are all relatively safe places to be in 2009. We’ll be seeing a lot more online engagement from these companies than we will from companies like GM or WaMu.
7 – Women Love a Deal
Coupon and discount sites may seem very 1999, but we’re betting on the fact that *every* woman loves a sale. In 2009 women, and especially moms, will *need* a sale. As more women move online, we’ve seen bargain hunters increase activity across our network of sites, even in this economy. The lowest prices will win, and any site that serves up savings is going to do well this year.
8 – Local Family Recreation & Travel
The camping trend that emerged in 2008 thanks to high gas prices is going to extend into 2009 thanks to falling incomes. Families unable to take big vacations will do more locally at parks, attractions, and local tourist destinations. And moms seeking cost-effective activities for their kids will be turning to the internet to find more things to do close to home.
9 – Think Green
With our new president comes a new focus on going green. While consumers have purchased green products for decades, we think that a paradigm shift is finally on it’s way so that green will become mainstream in 2009. Not only will women be doing more research about living more eco-friendly, they will be hunting down more products that won’t harm the environment.
26 Responses to “Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy”
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Hi Wendy
Hope you don’t mind, but I think there is one item missing from the statistics graph: women will want more ‘how to..’ websites/blogs, “how to’s” on whatever subject you can think of.
Personally we have already seen an increase this year in our own email inbox of questions on wooden flooring asked by women DIY-ers. A great niche to be in – as a woman in retail
Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
[...] Tough Money Love» Tough Money Love: Hard Truth about Money and Personal Finance wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWe’ll be seeing a lot more online engagement from these companies than we will from companies like GM or WaMu. … Coupon and discount sites may seem very 1999, but we’re betting on the fact that *every* woman loves a sale…. … mean that online companies aren’t going to prepare themselves for the worst. … So we bet that you will start seeing more products, services and incentives from sites that were 100% advertising based in the past…. [...]
Thanks for the interesting predictions as we swing into a new history- breaking year. To me, the upside is that even if our economy is skidding, women can continue to innovate and succeed.
Happy New Year Wishes!
Interesting take on predictions for 2009, I’ve added it to our tweet feed on predictions09: http://twitter.com/predictions09
Good thoughts. All companies are thinking about containing recession damage and creating resilience in their brands and products, and this creates a lot of online opportunity. I think that the sheer growth in numbers of consumers and moms online will push further evolution into sub-groups this year — around ethnic, cultural and location affinities.
Wendy this is an excellent article and a wake up call to advertisers and those of us building business models based on advertising revenue. I do have to start thinking about products more. Someone said something about women wanting “how to” products, I strongly agree. You are also so right about women loving a deal! The more we can make our sites address that particular need, the better.
[...] Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy 2008 has given us all a shakeup. We have a fragile economy unlike anything we have seen in 80 years. And the online advertising and technology industry is in for a rough ride in 2009. But 2008 was also the Year of the Woman online. Over the last 18 months, the number of ad networks targeted towards moms and women exploded. [...]
Wendy – I agree with you .. some thought 2008 would be the year of women online .. I’m betting on 2009. Added your post to Diva Cafes Facebook resources board.
This all good and wonderful . However , the reality is that if we don’t dramatically change structures,stategies,processes and costs our comnaies will die and we will lose our jobs. Sit down in small groups,RETHINK EVERYTHING and ACT ,
[...] Escalate Media: Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy [...]
Fantastic article!! Thank you!
Thank you
[...] Escalate Media: Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy [...]
Great article!
Great article Wendy. We have already seen and experienced some of your predictions. 2009 is going to be a tough year but an exciting one as well as we have a new leader and this recession shake’s-out. and levels the playing field in many industries, especially the on-line industry!
Thanks for the great post! I certainly hope you’re right — my book proposal depends on it!
Then again, was there ever any doubt?
Kelly, isn’t that the truth! We plan on being around when the playing field is leveled because I believe that we are in the era of the Alpha Woman! Especially when there are 11 single, heterosexual females to every 1 single, heterosexual males and that is just in the White, Asian, Hispanic, etc categories. In the black community the ratio is worse! As more and more women become empowered they will also be more educated, have more discretionary income and will be looking for communities to find friendship, business advice and ways to grow inspite of being single. That doesn’t even begin to touch on the Married or Lesbian couples either!
Freda Mooncotch
http://www.AlphaWomen.coom
[...] Escalate Media: Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy [...]
[...] 2009 starts to unfold, I’m already seeing some of my 2009 women’s trend predictions take place. This morning it was announced that the Glam Media ad network acquired AdaptiveAds, a [...]
[...] an interesting piece about the online trends in 2009 for women targeted businesses. Published at Escalate Media, a large network of online communities for women, to which she is an adviser, these are following [...]
[...] Escalate Media: Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy [...]
[...] reading the news, and socialising via social networks and online communities. This leads some to predict that women’s services are the main growth area for the Web in [...]
[...] to the article “9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy,” by Wendy Piersall at Escalate Media, there are already case studies with data to back – up [...]
[...] to the article “9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy,” by Wendy Piersall at Escalate Media, there are already case studies with data to back – up [...]
Sorry I missed your comment earlier on my post about social media trends in 2009.
So true, so true. I think given the time and purchase power that women have in the household. In a big way the internet, the mobile, and ipod have democratized technology.
I think the above dramatically underestimate article reading and social networking but irrespective will only increase with time. I wish self-reporting was better.
You highlight:
>>>Health & skin care, groceries & cooking, children’s clothing and educational products are all relatively safe places to be in 2009.
Very on point. This plus discounts is the sweet spot for sure. Hope the new year is treating you well!
This was a great article – I wish I’d found it earlier. Great job covering some of the trends with women online and how the economy is helping to drive (or shift) those behaviors. Women are inherently social (on and offline) and I think they will continue to use communities to support their efforts with parenting, relationships, money, health, politics, and more. I think we’ll see some very interesting products and services that come out of this increase in community behavior. Women don’t just want to be connected online or belong to groups. They want real ways to interact, share, create content, influence and even publish. I’m not convinced current social networks give them what they need to do all that. So something will evolve. Great blog!