The Impact of Culture & Gender on the Perception of E-commerce Portals for Branded Products

The research focuses on a new combination of variables, suited to the requirements of the marketing and technologically advanced world of today. The variables of culture have been explored in this research to a limited degree in relation to gender. While studies have pointed out that culture has a deep relation to the sex role socialization of men and women and that men and women of different cultures think, react and behave differently to different situations, the variables are still in need of further research, especially in the wake of the multinational companies of today blurring national boundaries and cross cultural business no longer being a rare phenomenon. Added to this is the fact that marketing styles, methods of approaching consumers in cross cultural settings have undergone tremendous changes keeping in mind the technological advancements that the world has seen. With more and more advertising especially where brand names promise a genuine product and spurious products can largely be ruled out, it is worthwhile to study the differences in the perceptions of men and women across different cultures, of websites for branded products. This research attempted to treat these variables together and presented the findings for these variables in relation to each other. The methodology used for the data collection method for this research consisted of primary and secondary methods which used both qualitative and quantitative data and these were proposed in the form of questionnaire and expert interview questions held in Saudi Arabia and Britain. The results demonstrated significant differences between men and women on all variables tested in both the countries. Furthest analyses of two of the countries in the sample (Saudi Arabia and Britain) are also linked to socio-cultural standards for masculinity-femininity. The findings and analysis was based on the data that was collected which was then interpreted using SPSS and then presented in a graphical format using Microsoft Excel. This research was ended with a conclusion followed by recommendations and scope for future research.