There are a lot of myths when it comes to shopping, and one of the biggest is that women love to shop while men hate shopping. The truth, according to Lee Eisenberg, author of Shoptimism, is that men and women both love and hate to shop in about the same proportional numbers.
The same is true with compulsive buying. While it is often viewed that women are more likely to be compulsive buyers, the truth is that both men and women are compulsive shoppers at about the same rate. The difference is that men are often better at hiding their compulsive shopping by saying that it’s a “hobby.”
Where the two sexes do deviate when it comes to shopping is their willingness to return items to the store. Women are far more willing to take something back that doesn’t work or had a problem then men are.
Why do you think that women get such a bum rap when it comes to shopping when the truth is much more equal?
I often feel bored out of my head when I go shopping with my wife, because I end up in stores that sell exclusively to women, like Ann Taylor Loft. There’s nothing in there that interests me. Take me into a store that sells men’s clothes, and it’s a little more tolerable. Gadget stores are always fun, but she’s not usually interested in those.
Haha, that’s a good point, and it’s one that I’ve always known to be true….
My pet theory has to do with the past, there men were the stereotypical bread-winner and women were the stereotypical home makers.
Given the premise, men would typically want to just come straight home and sit down, while women may want to get out of the house once in a while. As stay-at-home mothers, they may also have no choice but to go out and shop for groceries and other items to maintain the household.
Perhaps that’s how the general stereotype came around. Or perhaps not.
I am one of those women who hate shopping, so I avoid it whenever possible. Me and my husband both work, but I still do most of the shopping, especially the groceries. I haven’t set foot in the mall in over a year (not even for Christmas!). I do most of my shopping at Walmart or Target, where I can get most things at one place.
I take it you have never met my wife. She is shopping RIGHT NOW. Sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice.
What Keith said. Most people don’t like shopping when really they’re just accompanying shoppers. And most people don’t like shopping for things they think of as boring needs. But most people do have some interest for which they enjoy shopping.
I suspect women are also more likely to buy a lot of small, low-priced things whereas men are more likely to buy fewer high-priced things, so women are spending more time shopping even if they’re spending the same number of dollars.
That said, the male of our house is the shopper, whether measured in dollars spent, number of things bought, and number of shopping trips. I just think I already have most everything I need and want and he thinks there sure is a lot of cool new stuff out there in the world that he would like.
I’m a woman and shopping is one of the least favorite things to do. My husband enjoys shopping for clothes for both himself and fortunately for me. He has good taste and a good sense of style. I do like going to the grocery store and that’s usually because I’m trying to figure out good stuff for my week’s menu and finding good deals. But, if I had to go to more than a couple grocery stores just to browse, it would get tiring fast. I shop with a list and look at the ads before I go.
Thrift stores have changed my shopping habits dramatically so that I seldom go to a retail store unless I actually need something new (I draw the line at underwear, ha-ha). I truly never actually enjoyed shopping anyway. There are quite a few good thrifts in my vicinity, and if I feel I truly “need” something, I can usually find it at one of those. What I do now is actually walk to them; the exercise is what I’m after these days instead of spending money on things I don’t need.
When I was a SAHM, I spent rather indiscriminately. It was a way to let off steam, get out of the house for something different, etc.
Now that I work, I just want to go to work, run all my errands as quickly as possible afterwards, and come straight home. I avoid going out during the weekends as much as possible. I also steer clear of malls, as I feel that things I need to buy aren’t there in the first place.
It helps that where I work I have to wear a uniform. This decreases the need for buying new clothing, accessories and shoes. So, that stated, I have no excuse to go shopping at the mall.
Over the course of time, I’ve become the typical go-in-find-what-I-need-and-get-out-fast; even at grocery stores….
I’ve even gotten really good about shopping online as well. I browse, and if I come across an item I really and truly want to get, I will go through the site, choosing an item, filling out the necessary information, all the way up to “Submit” and then click on the ‘X’ to close the website. It’s worked well for me.
I am a SAHP and I like “shopping” simply b/c it is the only thought-free, child-free thing I can do sometimes on the spur of the moment. But when I shop, I go with a list. My husband and I both have an allowance (which I rarely spend), and I hate to part with any of it without good reason. So once every 6 months or so I go “shopping” with a friend of mine and I might spend between $20 and $50, usually on clothes. The other kind of shopping I do is online, books at Amazon or clothes from Old Navy. I haven’t bought clothes since all those awesome preChristmas sales at ON. And I buy about 1 book (used) every 2-3 months on Amazon.
I despise purposeless shopping. When I go with my friend, I get a little impatient and try to hide it. I know what I want, and if I don’t find it, I treat myself to a coffee and call it a day.