Men Buy and Women Shop: Gender Differences

When it comes to shopping, women are from Nordstrom's and men are from Sears.

Women are happy to meander through sprawling clothing and accessory collections or detour through the shoe department.

They like to glide up glass escalators past a grand piano, or spray a perfume sample on themselves on their way to, maybe, making a purchase.

For men, shopping is a mission.

They are out to buy a targeted item and flee 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 firm, found 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 for 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 officer at CVS Caremark and a member of the Baker advisory board. "Men want to go to Sears, buy a specific tool and get out."

Price says women's role as caregiver persists even as women's professional responsibilities mount.

He speculates that this responsibility contributes to women's more acute shopping awareness and higher expectations.

On the other hand, after generations of relying on women to shop effectively for them, men's interest in shopping has atrophied.

According to Wharton marketing professor Stephen J. Hoch, shopping behavior mirrors gender differences throughout many aspects of life. "Women think of shopping in an inter-personal, human fashion and men treat it as more instrumental. It's a job to get done," he says. （Shanghai Daily）