Munich, 24 August 2009 – Already two-thirds of Internet users search specifically in online marketplaces for products, services or properties. A gender comparison uncovers striking differences: whereas every other man adopts a highly targeted approach in the online search, women tend to be guided by inspiration. That is shown by the representative results of a recent Scout24 trend survey.

44 per cent of male online hunters want to prey and find what they are seeking as quickly as possible. For women, on the other hand, rooting around on the Net is a source of inspiration: two-thirds of female Internet users hit upon new ideas in this way.

However, the sexes are united in their expectations of an online marketplace: two out of three people surveyed put a premium on product information and the possibilities of comparing performance and prices. Some 70 per cent of Internet users choose online marketplaces with exhaustive information and offers to find what they are after as quickly and easily as possible.

The trend in online marketplaces is towards social shopping: for instance, 84 per cent of those surveyed no longer trust the suppliers’ product information. Instead they are guided by the ratings and assessments of other users.

The trend survey was commissioned by the Scout24 group of companies and carried out by the Innofact market research institute. This involved surveying more than 1,000 Internet users in July. We will gladly send you the detailed results of the trend survey upon request.

Scout24 is one of Europe's leading groups of companies for online market places. The seven marketplaces of the Scout24 Group, AutoScout24, ElectronicScout24, FinanceScout24, FriendScout24, ImmobilienScout24, JobScout24, TravelScout24 and the portal Jobs.de are present in 18 countries. As a strong partner, Scout supports its customers in important decisions, in particular in the fields of housing, mobility, employment, partnership and finance.

Every month, around eight million Internet users place their confidence in the offerings provided by the Scout24 Group, which is a part of the Deutsche Telekom Group. Further information is available under www.scout24.com.