Kuang 1
Zhenzhen Kuang
English 102 D2
Dr. Su
Gender and Shopping: How Are They Related? Though shopping became a strong power in the economic development of most countries, it is widely regarded as a gender related activity. Women have fun picking out goods while men quickly buy what they need and leave. In reality, shopping behavior between men and women is not strictly based off of difference in gender. Differences in interests and personalities, and prior shopping experiences heavily influence shopping behavior. Shopping has various functions for various individuals. For some it is a leisure activity where people enjoy walking around looking for nothing in particular – i.e. the recreational shopper (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980). For others, it is considered a work type activity where people do not enjoy the activity very much, only doing it when absolutely necessary – called the convenience shopper (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980). It has been a well-established fact for several years that men and women shop differently. For instance, Lunt and Livingstone (1992) argued that at least in industrialized countries men and women have very different roles to play, and that they would make very different decisions. Additionally, Lunt and Livingstone (1992) and later Miller (1998) made a case that the actual act of shopping seemed to be much more part of the woman’s domain, while the man’s role was to take care of monetary issues. Similarly, Campbell (1997) showed that women are much more interested in the activity than men are, and that they also much more likely to have a much more positive attitude to the activity than men do. However, Otnes and McGrath (2001) were the first to explore the male shopping experience in more detail and identified three stereotypes of men’s
Kuang 2 shopping behavior. These are: “grab and go,” “whine and wait,” and “fear of the feminine.” The ‘grab and go shopper’ is one who does not want to waste a lot of time in the process of shopping. This shopper knows what he wants, and therefore does not need to spend much time looking around therefore he goes to the store buys what he wants and leaves. The ‘whine and wait shopper’ is the disinterested shopper who endures but does not enjoy the process, while someone else does the shopping. ‘Fear of the feminine’ refers to a dislike by men of doing anything that could be considered as a female activity. Bakewell and Mitchell (2004), mentions that although no one shops the same way, it is an activity that most human beings participate in. From young children to older people, there is no exception; everyone has their own personal experience with shopping. Younger children are usually involved in shopping only in the company of their parents, while older children and teenagers can often be found hanging out in shopping malls with each other (Anthony, 1985). Once the teenage years are over, there will be yet another change in the social context of shopping behavior, as one goes from shopping with friends, to shopping with a partner, to shopping with their own family. As a person goes through life there can be several changes in how that person shops. This applies to both men and women. Not all men dread stepping into stores and looking around but most men do. Not all women find walking for hours until something catches their eyes fun, yet quite a few of them enjoy it. Although not as common, there are some women who hate having to shop unless they absolutely have to. The way a person shops is shaped by their previous experiences and their personality. Gender has nothing to do with it. But the truth is, whether they like shopping or not, all men and women do it differently. Stores aim to lure men and women to shop by focusing on their differences. Stores make the experience more interactive—"touching a fabric, staging it with matching bags—will prompt a woman to want to
Kuang 3 buy more." Men, on the other hand, just want to know where the product is