Men and Women and Shopping

Back when I was in college, I was going to be heading to a fraternity convention and needed to get some new clothes. My then girlfriend (now wife) and I went to a local department store, where in the space of 30 minutes I looked at, tried on and purchases four shirts, a pair of pants and two sets of walking shorts. I often commented that only men can shop like that.

Women "shop" by looking around. Men "shop" like it is a search and destroy mission, i.e. the sooner it is over the better for everyone involved. Women "shop" with some vague notion of what they want to get and are open to other options (often wide open to many, many other options). Men, "shop" with a predetermined goal in mind: i.e. "need new running shoes, therefore I go to a sporting goods store." Men don't mess around with going to three other shoe stores. Women "shop" by visiting a multitude of stores. Men "shop" by going to a few stores as possible and if they can do everything in one store, so much the better.

This has always been my theory. Don McMillan illustrates it via powerpoint.