Men are far looser on the wallet strings when it comes to spending money online - women prefer to part with their money in person. The e-commerce industry report compiled by Effective Measure , IAB SA and Visa was released in Rosebank, Johannesburg, yesterday.A survey of more than 12000 internet users on online shopping habits showed that 56% of participants shop online, with 44% not engaging in online shopping at all.Although men and women shop online, 2.76% more men prefer this method of shopping than women. Men made up 51.38% of online shoppers and women 48.62%.Market research company Columinate's CEO Henk Pretorius said the results rang true from observations the company had made in the past few years, saying it was all about convenience for men.The three highest online shopping categories continued to be technology-based items, books and music, he said, although o nline grocery and clothing purchases were increasing.Of the people surveyed, tickets for events and travel, hotel reservations, DVDs, videos and music were among the top purchases by men and women.Results showed that the majority of people who did not shop online were women aged between 20 and 34. The majority of these (41%) said they were "not used to it", with 37% saying "they prefer to touch and feel before buying".Trust - or the lack of it - was highlighted as a significant barrier to online shopping, especially regarding payment methods.Respondents said that "zero liability or some form of online protection" was part of the reason they did not trust online shopping.About 58% said that having the option to pay upon delivery would motivate them to do more online shopping.Most online shoppers live in Gauteng (43.75%), Western Cape (18.73%) and KwaZulu-Natal (15.31%). Eastern Cape made up 5.98%, Mpumalanga 4.7%, Limpopo 4.35%, North West 3.51%, Free State 2.74% and Northern Cape 0.95%...