Meet the new shopaholics in town

Men are from Mars and women from Venus. So while they are different in so many other things, it is only fair that shopping be one of them. How many times has one seen the forced boyfriend, the helpless husband or just a caught-in-the-moment, male friend glance forlornly while the woman with them shops till she drops.

Shopping, a much-dreaded word mostly stands like a chore for men, say the guys. It is something that “needs to be done,” to keep their wardrobe from looking like a junk yard, a majority of them point out. So while a woman loses it all, when going to shop for a bag or a shoe, coming back with everything else but those, the men keep it real and are extremely focussed. They have the buying item narrowed down to the hilt in their minds, hitting the right store and merchandise with the precision of a surgeon’s knife.

So, what really makes the men so different when it comes to the s-word? Don’t those shelves laden with so much to buy lure them? How can they get inside a store and decided what to buy, before you have blinked twice. “It is the art of

compartmentalisation,” points Charles Jacob, an IT professional in the city and a cautious buyer. “A lot of guys have additional responsibilities, besides their own needs. Personally, that makes me a judicious shopper and I don’t tend to spend excessively and buy what I need,” he confesses candidly. The other reason, says banker Dheeraj Kapur is that “men have other distractions like gadgets, cars, which divide the focus from ‘just’ shopping.”

Dr Yesheswini Kamaraju, Consultant Psychiatrist, Fortis Hospital points out an interesting insight about men being better focussed buyers as compared to women. “Women are inherently multitasking and so when they go shopping they think in multiple channels. As a result they make more emotional buys.” She cites an example of how when a woman goes shopping, she thinks more about how people around her will perceive her, rather than just her personal needs. “Men apply their reasoning and logical abilities better and so don’t end up into impulsive shopping often,”
she adds.

However, image consultant Shokey Malik, who has been helping with personalised shopping services for men in the city points out that guys with a disposable income are now more open to instinctive buying. “But it is a matter of deals or value-added shopping for the guys. If they buy a high-end jacket, they might spend some extra bucks for a lower-priced cap if there’s a good buying package available.” Shokey also adds that he has noticed the male mentality undergoing a change with time, when it comes to shopping. “Men are more image-conscious these days. They now don’t mind spending big bucks on high-end shopping. It’s almost like they are going the women-way and buying more on the way,” he laughs. Role reversal, we wonder!