Men Buy Women Shop

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‘Men Buy, Women Shop’: The Sexes Have Different Priorities When Walking Down the Aisles
No v 28, 2007 Po dcasts No rth America

00:00 00:00 When it comes to shopping, women are f rom Nordstrom’s and men are f rom Sears. Women are happy to meander through sprawling clothing and accessory collections or detour through the shoe department. T hey like to glide up glass escalators past a grand piano, or spray a perf ume sample on themselves on their way to, maybe, making a purchase. For men, shopping is a mission. T hey are out to buy a targeted item and f lee the store as quickly as possible, according to new Wharton research. In a study titled, “Men Buy, Women Shop,” researchers at Wharton’s Jay H. Baker Retail Initiative and the Verde Group, a Toronto consulting f irm, f ound that women react more strongly than men to personal interaction with sales associates. Men are more likely to respond to more utilitarian aspects of the experience — such as the availability of parking, whether the item they came f or is in stock, and the length of the checkout line. “Women tend to be more invested in the shopping experience on many dimensions,” says Robert Price, chief marketing of f icer at CVS Caremark and a member of the Baker advisory board. “Men want to go to Sears, buy a specif ic tool and get out.” As one f emale shopper between the ages of 18 and 35 told the researchers: “I love shopping. I love shopping even when I have a deadline. I just love shopping.” Compare that to this response f rom a male in the same age group who described how men approach retailing: “We’re going to this store and we buy it and we leave because we want to do something else.” Price says women’s role as caregiver persists even as women’s prof essional responsibilities mount. He speculates that this responsibility contributes...