More Women Online

The number of women on the Internet is growing faster than the number of men, and the proportion of women among online buyers is increasing even faster, according to a new study. Women accounted for 46% of the 92 million Internet users in North America in April, up from 43% in the last two years, says the study, released Thursday by CommerceNet and Nielsen Media Research. The total number of users climbed 16% from nine months earlier. Online buying jumped much faster, at a 40% clip, to 28 million. The number of female Net shoppers rose twice as fast as that. Women now account for 38% of online buyers, the study found, up from 29%. “Men were undoubtedly the early adopters of Internet commerce, but women have recently emerged as a powerful buying force,” said Jerome Samson, Nielsen’s director of technology and business strategy.