Gender Differences in the Perception of Selected Aspects of Social Media as Part of Ecommerce Activities during a Pandemic

Objective - In the current time of pandemic crisis, social media is one of the most effective tools for ecommerce to keep in touch with customers. One of the most affected segments worldwide is undoubtedly the tourist segment. Our goal was to examine the perception of selected aspects of social media in the light of gender differences during a pandemic in the tourist segment, when these can convince or discourage the customer to buy.Methodology/Technique - Data collection took place from the beginning of 2021 and lasted 3 months. It was an online questionnaire and focused on customers of travel agencies. A total of 723 valid responses were collected. These were analyzed for statistical significance of gender differences using SPSS software.Findings - The results identified significant differences in perceptions between men and women in some of the areas examined. The best forms of content that work best on these platforms have been identified. Attitudes towards communication through social media for marketing purposes were also identified. These were perceived positively in order to support purchasing decisions. We also identified a great need for personalization in communication via social media in a given tourist segment.Novelty - All findings show great implication potential for both theory and practice. The pandemic situation has changed market conditions and many of these changes will persist beyond. There is therefore a need to examine these contexts in the future. Managers in the tourism segment are able to incorporate the identified results into the way they manage their online activities and manage their social media.Type of Paper - Empirical