The Psychology of Shopping

We're in retail.
We've made some observations about the shopping habits of our clientele.

Now this may seem obvious to most... but there are some serious differences in the way men and women shop. For one thing, men don't shop, they go out to make a purchase. Women on the other hand find shopping pleasurable!

It's kinda like - 'Ladies, take a look at your man, now look at yourself, now back to your man, now back to you. Don't you wish he shopped like you?'

Photo via www.ambre-printing.com  

Or maybe you don't! Maybe shopping is your little get away from the everyday and you really don't want 'him' tagging along. Truly, going to the grocery store with no kids and coffee in hand has been compared by some busy moms to a day at the spa. But we're not talking a grocery run, we're talking a Shopping Trip, and trip is the operative word!

And so we wish to share some common observations by the Willows Women.

• Women shop, men buy things
• Women shop together, they will plan an excursion via facebook or text messaging including day, time, location(s) and what to wear. Women will even host a TweetUp!! 
• Men prefer to shop alone and make it quick
• Women will turn a day of shopping into an overnight excursion.
• Women will dress up to go shopping - hair, makeup, accessories. Almost as though they expect shopping to end in a night on the town... which it certainly might!
• Women view shopping the way men view burgers, beers and UFC Fight Night - it's an event!
• Women carefully consider their footwear, easy slip on/off is a must when trying on clothes
• Women will buy something even if they already have it in their wardrobe or in a cupboard (and they think only boyscouts wanna 'be prepared.')
• Women may forgo some necessities to work their way through the 'wish list.' Men may also do this, especially if there is a fast boat or car involved or some other thing they can ascribe a female name to.

We do realize there are male exceptions to these female rules... and those men are welcome to come along on the next excursion - if they think they can keep up! Can you think of one we've missed?