Gendered Shopping A Seven Country Comparison
Abstract
Studies in Western countries have revealed that women spend more time shopping than do men with the exception of online shopping. To extend this finding to non-Western populations, the present study used identical methods of observing visitors to indoor shopping malls in seven different countries. Three of the countries were Western (Canada, Spain, and the United States) and four were non-Western (China, Laos, Malaysia, and Turkey). In all seven countries, the proportion of women significantly exceeded the proportion of men. Among children and adolescents, female also outnumbered their male cohorts in most of the seven countries, although the differences were not always statistically significant. Theoretical explanations for these findings are explored. Overall, we propose that the most credible explanation involves a combination of social, evolutionary, and neurohormonal variables. Key Words: Sex differences; Shopping; Cross-cultural (Canada, China, Laos, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey, United States).
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Furthermore, women report enjoying shopping more than do men (Alreck & Settle, 2002; Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980; Rook & Hoch, 1985; Seock & Bailey, 2008). A study by Swaminathan et al. (1999) indicated that men and women have different “orientations” to shopping. Basically, men are more oriented toward shopping if and where it is most convenient and least time-consuming; whereas women seem to savor prolonged shopping experiences, especially when they can share the experiences with others (Rook & Hoch, 1985).
The data just screans human nature, not social roles.