And they're planning to get even closer.
Women now control the money on the Internet.
Not to be outdone, women are beginning to buy online as often as men, who have long been the primary online buyers. The similarity in figures is not surprising, given that the number of women shopping online nearly doubled from 5.8 million to 10.6 million between June 1998 and April 1999, according to a recent survey by Nielsen Media Research and CommerceNet. The number of men shopping online grew just 23 percent. Still, men have been more likely to buy online than women-17.4 million of the 28 million online buyers are men, according to the study. Women have been more likely to research products online before buying from a traditional retailer.