Male vs. Female shoppers

On Labor Day I went shopping with my husband. We’re going on a trip soon and needed to get some additional outfits, taking advantage of the holiday sales.

Now, I don’t go shopping very often for various reason. My walk-in closet no longer has room for walk-ins and sometimes I indulge in impulse buying which is dangerous for the health of my wallet and bank account. So, unless I’m buying gifts for others, I try to stay away from the stores and keep everyone happy, bank account included 🙂

In the rare case of going on a shopping spree, I like to take my sweet time to see all the deals in clearance first, before I head for the regularly priced items. I don’t like feeling rushed so I normally prefer to go alone to avoid someone breathing down my neck. But this was a holiday and we weren’t really in a rush, so why not, I thought.

We walked into Macy’s and I started somewhere in the middle, looking for shorts. My husband told me he’d be right back and walked away. Fine with me, cause I needed time to see everything in that rack. Ten minutes later he finds me on the other side of the store browsing other racks, and he showed me some items he picked up. Nice top and pants! How did he do that? So quickly? Would’ve taken me at least 20 minutes before I started doubting the colors, and the design, and the price, only to return the items to the racks….

But that’s the big difference between men and women on a shopping trip! Guys have laser focus when it comes to buying stuff, where as women shop with emotions (at least I do). I look at colors that match my mood, constantly reminding myself that I’m looking for shorts and not tops, or dresses, or scarves. No wonder it takes most women forever to shop! We also want the most for our money, so instead of one top, we want three for the same amount. Exhausting! But also very true, as was confirmed during dinner with two other couples on our cruise. It was the topic of much laughter. We just can’t help wanting to “save” money when shopping. It reminded me of a lunch discussion, when my co-worker was trying to convince some of the guys that she really “saved” 60% on something she bought. Of course they didn’t agree, since she spent money instead of “saving” it. Depends on how you look at it, but we had some good laughs about it.

I couldn’t find anything wrong with the outfit he picked, so I gladly went with hubby’s suggestions and in 20 minutes we were done in this store. Cause really, what was the point in lingering longer? I actually like this way of shopping because it saved a lot of time!! We got some good deals in record time, covering four large department stores in less than 2 hours.

So unless I’m shopping for fun or to get out of a funk (dip), I don’t mind taking my shopping-buddy along! How about you?