Gender difference in visual attention to digital content of place-based advertising: a data-driven scientific approach

Due to the greater integration of digital technology within advertising and e-commerce, academics and practitioners need a better understanding of advertising effects in ecologically valid environments. This in-market study focuses on gender differences to investigate different types of visual attention for place-based advertising in a digital marketing context. This study adopts a data-driven scientific approach and demonstrates that gender differences can assess shoppers’ viewing behavior and preference towards different promotional content based on gender schemas. Our results find that gender dynamics are complex. On the one hand, our findings show that female shoppers are more likely to respond to gaze cues and notice place-based advertising if others are also looking at the ad. On the other hand, male shoppers display longer staying and fixation times than females. Although a few detailed results are mixed, in our additional investigation, we found that gender is still a key factor in explaining the initial visual attention to promotional content within place-based advertising.