Let's Talk About...Men and Women Shoppers

Ok. File this under "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus." It is a big filing cabinet so make a little room for this.

Men buy things. Women buy things. People buy everything from houses to rubberbands.

Women tend to be the purchasers of items that fit into a bag. I am thinking about groceries, clothes, and household goods. This is why in many households, it seems men take for granted that certain household items simply appear. For example, tissues, food, toilet paper, underwear, and band aids are just miraculously plentiful at home.

Men, on the other hand, seem to limit themselves to buying only those items larger than a watermelon. There is a reason they get excited about buying things like drills, bicycles, lawn mowers, motorcycles, chainsaws, cars and boats. Without pointing out the obvious, men seem to believe they are better equipped to purchase these kinds of items and seem to get a great deal of satisfaction doing so.

But are they? And do they?

And, unlike women, men tend to shop alone. That means they come home with a new big screen TV that turns out to just be a computer monitor. Or they come home with a snow blower that gets stuck in the snow. Or they come home with a drill but a set of the wrong drill bits.

My husband did all those things. More than once. He usually shops alone. Coincidence? I think not.

Women, on the other hand, often shop together. Fewer mistakes are made.

Together they ponder over healthy snack items for the children, or whether the floor protectors on the bottom of furniture legs should be made of felt or rubber.

Women have been known to buy clothes together and aren't afraid to say to one another, "Those pants don't do you any favors," before a credit card is swiped. I think women shop with a mission and aren't afraid to ask for advice.

My husband will text me from Home Depot, asking for a photo of the faucet connector he went to Home Depot to replace. And will often come home with a faucet coupling instead.

Women know whether the vacuum bags needed are "F" or "G" and won't leave the house without double checking.

I am not a men vs. women person, but I do see some obvious trends. Women plan. Men don't. Women don't mind asking for advice. Men want to do it alone. Women see essential details. Men see the big picture, even if it is slightly out of focus.

However, if all the planets align, the satisfaction of the purchase (despite frequent returns) and the endorphin rush from having something new, offset our gender-based limitations and talents.

We will unpack more from that filing cabinet in future columns.