Runet: the sex perspective
Russian men are attracted to military subjects, and the women like to shop online. Gemius has checked what websites in the Russian-speaking part of the internet, called “Runet”, are tailored to suit men, and which are more to the taste and needs of women.
The June 2014 data shows that 70 million adults view websites in Russia. It’s the women that constitute majority among the online audience, accounting for 37.6 million, which is over 5 million more than the men (32.5 m).
According to Anton Melekov, the head of Russian Gemius branch, it is a new situation.
“Previously Runet was more masculine, but now it’s feminized. The data reflects a proportion in the Russian society which consist of 46 per cent of men and 54 per cent of women - says Anton Melekov”.
The internet is a focalized representation of the users’ interests, and shows what events draw their attention. Which websites attract mainly women and which enjoy almost exclusive recognition of men?
Men’s favourite reading is on military subjects
According to the gemiusAudience internet study measurement, men prefer websites concerned with military themes, freelancing and cars. In June 2014, they were most attracted to: the online version of a magazine devoted to army maters titled “Voyennoye obozreniye”, i.e. Topwar.ru (89 per cent of users were male), a platform for freelancers that offers intermediary services between contractors and principals – Freelansim.ru and a website dealing with automotive subjects – Cartimes.ru (86 per cent each).
Men in Russia are also eager to visit websites devoted to news, sports, financial information and technological development.
In the previous year (June 2013), the most ‘manly’ sites on Runet were: the online version of the magazine dealing with technical novelties titled “Populyarnaya Mekhanika” – Popmech.ru (83 per cent of users were men), the automotive site Exist.ru (83 per cent) and a hunting and fishing website – Ohotniki.ru (81 per cent).
Women like shopping online
In June 2014, a Russian woman was most likely to be found on: the website of the Russian Federation Pension Fund - Pfrf.ru (88 per cent of users were female), the clothes shop Bonprix.ru (85 per cent) and the website offering clothes for children and pregnant women – Mamsy.ru (84 per cent).
Why such interest in the Russian Federation Pension Fund website among the online women in Russia? Jadwiga Rogoża, an analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), who deals with the Russian issues explains this with the fact that it is women that are the hearth goddesses and home budgets keepers. “The increased interest of women in the fund website may stem from the fact that the institution has been tampering with the contributions in the recent months, in cooperation with the government. First the public was informed that the so-called secondpillar contributions were temporarily frozen, and then that all contributions for 2013 were earmarked towards the needs of the Crimea annexed in March 2014, “the analyst adds.
Russian women are also interested in websites related to motherhood, shopping, lifestyle, education and self-education, as well as entertainment.
In the analogous period of the previous year (June 2013), the most feminized website on Runet was the online store Yves-rocher.ru (88 per cent of users were women). Next came the online shop Bonprix.ru (87 per cent) and the platform with educational materials Alleng.ru (79 per cent).
The data quoted originates from an international project (gemiusAudience) conducted by Gemius in more than 30 countries. It aims to research into the number and demographic profile of internet users and the manner in which they utilize the web. The study is performed according to Gemius proprietary hybrid methodology and in accordance with the ICC/ESOMAR international code of conduct.
