Sunday, April 17, 2011

His vs Her Shopping: The Differences!!



 This article is based on my experience of shopping for decades with men, be it my dad or my then-boyfriend-now-husband! Let's start with the story, last weekend my husband and I headed towards the malls with a packed agenda of shopping, shopping and shopping. We spent quite sometime there and here's what we came back with -

Him: Pair of jeans, shoes, pair of trousers
Me: Faces Eyeliner (which was not even on my shopping list for the day) and ..that's it!



Later on Monday, I was sitting in a meeting in office and wondering why I can never buy stuff in a planned shopping. This analysis seemed far more interesting that what was going on in the meeting. You won't believe it but I actually made some notes! I realised the concept and approach to shopping are very different for men and women. Let's get into the details.

The Concept
For men shopping is more of a need based thing. They shop when they need something.
For women, shopping is the ultimate pleasure. We don't shop because we need something, we shop because we feel like shopping.
  • I shop when I am happy because I am happy.
  • I shop when I am sad because it will make me happy.
  • I shop when I like something (even if my closet is stuffed with 10 more items of the similar kind).
Yet, I do always have some kind of a reason as you can see, I am not an unreasonable shopper.

Why men take lesser time to shop?

1. The Approach
When men shop, they have very specific things on mind. Sometimes it is simply a replacement. Hence it is much easier and less time consuming. My husband mostly buys from the first shop he enters. He purchased a suit worth Rs 12k ($ 300) in less than 12 minutes!

As for me, I can't even buy something worth Rs 1200 ($ 30) in 12 min. It is a very rare that I picked up stuff from the first store! I may eventually buy from there but not before I have explored the entire mall. I can't miss out on better deals and designs!

Secondly shopping for us is an experience, so if I planned to shop for 2 hrs, I can't finish it in just 10 min!
  • Replacement takes lesser time than adding new things to the closet!

2. Hardly Any Choice
 I don't wanna sound rude but men hardly have 10 things to chose from, I mean its just jeans/ shirt/ t-shirt/ trouser/ shoes! But for us, it's so many things in addition to these.. We have to shop for lip glosses/ eye-liners/ eye-shadows/ sarees/ tops/ skirts/ stilettoes/ pumps/ curls/ jewellery....the list can go on!
  • Limited Choice = Less Time
 



3. No Questions Asked
Men don't like asking questions, be it while driving to a new place or shopping in a store. They just pick up what they like without asking too many questions to the SA. But again, we like to get the best deals, so we like exploring and bugging the SA with millions of queries. It's their job after all!
  • Less Questions = Less Time


Finally: Honey, Let's talk about the Money
Now hear this, not always but most of the times our stuff comes at half the price of theirs. For similar items, men's stuff is invariably more expensive than those for women in the same store! So that leaves us with the freedom to buy more things :)
It's strange that though I am the shopaholic and my husband is a wise shopper, our credit card bills are more or less the same!



This was my experience. So tell what you guys think!

Pictures from Google Images

19 comments:

Nivedita said...

hahahahahha!!!! so true. But I'm myself a very quick shopper. My bf prefers to pick up his stuff with me because he says I know how to shop very quickly. :P

Anonymous said...

bye bye risk mgmt, welcome brand mgmt! captures psyche of male shoppers to perfection..and all this introspection bcoz u cudnt find much to shop one day ;)

PeachesandBlush said...

Hehe !! So agree, i shop because i want..he shops because he needs ....but whtvr its so much more fun being a girl

Poohkie said...

haha!! So funny! I completely agree. Women shop coz they're happy, sad, bored & every other reason. Men shop coz they need a replacement.

Hungover on Fashion said...

@Nivedita: you're different and your bf is lucky :)

@anonymous: nice to know i got the male pshyche right :) experience pays :)

@pnb: it's definitely much more fun to be a girl!! so many things to do :)

@poohkie: agreed..

this is fun :)

Ankita said...

Hahaha! true!!
The joke sums it all up:
"A man will spend 2$ on a 1$ item he needs. A woman will spend 1$ on a 2$ item she doesn’t need (but it was on sale)." :D

Anonymous said...

ohhh tell me about it... guess everyone has had this experience... never heard of guy who does'nt fit this description

Hungover on Fashion said...

@Ankita: Well said..err..well joked :)
@Rashmi: yes, and most women fit the description too..we do have exceptions like our very own nivedita :)

Unknown said...

agree! I just like to shop coz I want to and It really makes me happy!!!
my boyfriend is a boring shopper. LOL

followed u back :)

CINCHED AT THE WAIST said...

jaja this is true! great way to look at it but veeery true!

lovely post and blog,
Annina
www.cinchedatthewaist.com

-would you like to follow each other?

Bhushavali said...

Recently when I went to shop, 2 men came over to buy an outfit for one of their girlfriend. He came took the first piece he saw, enquired the size, and went to bill. Not even 5 mins!!! I was shell shocked!!! :D
Customized T-Shirt Print

Dr Shivani Sud Thakur said...

this is soooooooooooooo like me.....and my hubby..........lovely post

Dr Shivani Sud Thakur said...

so much like me and my hubby..........lovely post

Linhy said...

hahaha its hard i tell ya!

Hungover on Fashion said...

@ Mitr: Keeps happening all the time :)
@Shivani: Well it's the story of every couple!!
@Linhy: :)

Unknown said...

I shop for the sake of it...
But I am an impulse shopper if i see it
and i want it
i have to get it,
if i find a better deal, i get that one and return the other lol..\

But sometimes i wish i could shop like a guy, i would save so much money

lovely post
now following you
doasbg.blogpsot.com

Ila said...

I totally agree but well there are men who love shopping too well most of them are Gay :)
btw you forgot bags in the shopping list :)

Nivedita said...

*blush* *blush*

Unknown said...

omg..so true..you read my mind! i am loving your blog.

love,
Asta
http://cactusandcucumber.blogspot.com/