Shopping habits, gender wise!

Men are from Mars and Women from Venus. Men and Women have different habits and priorities when it comes to shopping and they can never agree to sail in the same boat. So it is rightly said, While Men purchase, Women shop.

Interestingly, even Sales associates agree that both the sexes need different treatment when they come to the shop.  It has been found in a survey that women react strongly to personal interaction with sales associates, whereas men are more likely to respond to more practical aspects of the experience …such as the availability of parking, whether the item they came for is in stock, what interesting developments have taken place in the technology since they last visited the store and the length of the checkout line etc.”


Lyla, a 23 year old shopaholic told the researchers, “I love shopping, even when I have a deadline. Ajay, who is of the same age on the other hand says, “I am going to this store because I want to buy a particular thing and then immediately leave because I have to attend other things”.


Another major factor for pumping up a woman’s shopping adrenaline could be that she has been seen as a care giver since the time of Eve and she has excelled her role as a super woman by balancing professional responsibility with her family life so men have always trusted her abilities and capabilities in negotiating, shopping and awareness, therefore, he has skin-and-bone interest in shopping himself.


A funny truth goes like this,” A man starts to complain of a headache when asked to accompany a woman to shopping.


Business, gender wise

As per a survey, sales associate are more than pleased to see a woman walk into the shop. Women are good shoppers and at times they are unplanned so they end up going overboard as they get easily attracted by new arrivals and displays. Also, they are more likely to fall into the offers and scheme traps often compromising with products for a few rupees less. Most of them can also be seduced to buy more with a little ego massage. Unfortunately, since they like to spend more time in experimenting with different products even if they don’t buy all, in case they fall short of a store assistance, they may fly the handle and thus the store may suffer a loss due to lack of expected purchase. Taslima is a housewife who says, “ I look for schemes like with a kg of Vrinda Tea I get 6 cups free. So, I compromise on the quality but my husband would always prefer branded tea like Tata or Brook bond etc.  and never fall into the lure of such schemes”. Moreover, I am impressed if a sales associate helps me in taking a purchase decision”.


As we see, a man more or less shops with a predetermined mind, for example, he would check the nuances of a mobile model before making that purchase. His need for store assistance is restricted to helping him find a product and getting it through check out quickly.


So, women tend to remember a sale associate who has helped her the most and return to the shop whereas Men scratch their head if you ask them about sales people.


Steps to follow by retailers in ensuring good sales

  • Basically, a retailer must ensure that his inventory is in place to avoid irritancy
  • His operations are smooth
  • Communication is vital to win women shopper so a retailer or a sales associate must understand what the shopper is looking for exactly and take her to there
  • Men can find the required spots as they don’t get distracted easily by the glam sham of the displays whereas a woman may be required to be hand held and led to the spot
  • Another point to be considered is, “Whether it is a luxury item or essential. Well you may be wondering what is this I am talking about now? Let me calm your apprehensions, since different categories need different communications, sales associates must be trained to recognize and react to shopper’s cues.
  • Women are more apt to be angered by a lack of engagement behaviour from the sales associates. For men, while engagement is still important, it's not as important as the product and getting in and out quickly. So, a retailer must keep this in mind when engaging with them.
  • Retailers who are concentrating on women must devote attention to editing their assortment of items. For example, a housewife may prefer a swath of items to choose from whereas a professional may prefer stores with limited selections.
  • Finally, he says, hiring women throughout the ranks will help retailers understand what women want. At his company, women make up the majority of sales associates and are heavily represented in the marketing department. No idea gets floated too far before a woman can reflect on how it might impact her own life.

Hence, as we see that men are more practical in their purchase whereas women go for the frills, it is for the retailer to sense the best pulse and ensure that his customers come smiling and go out even more amused while promising to come back very soon and, that too, repeatedly.





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