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Gender Differences in Shopping

1. Title: Differences in the Number of Times Per Month Men and Women Shop
   Shopping is an important part of people’s lives. Shopping ensures that people fulfill their
   needs. Through shopping, men and women are able to acquire food, clothes, and other essentials.
   In the digital age, people are shopping online and having the goods delivered at their doorsteps.
   The Internet, coupled with the increased access to smartphones, has transformed shopping. Many
   merchants are choosing to sell their items online since online shopping reaches more people, and
   it is also cost-effective. Online shopping has made many people become addicted to shopping.
   The convenience brought by online shopping means that shoppers do not have to travel to
   physical shops to access goods and services. However, there is a difference between men and
   women in terms of online shopping. Both genders have different motives and rationales for
   shopping. It is important to collect data on the attitudes and behaviors of men and women. The
   data on both online and offline shoppers can be used in designing business strategies that will
   make a company’s products appealing to both genders. Collecting the data is also important
   since it guides companies to design outreach programs based on the majority of the customers.
2. Subsection 1: Gender Differences in Shopping Behavior

Shopping Motivation
Traditionally, companies have concentrated on women and taken men as passive
shoppers. The voices of male shoppers have been ignored by companies. However, male and
female shoppers differ primarily on shopping motivation (Keech, Papakroni & Podoshen, 2019).
There are two shopping motives that influence shoppers. The first motive is the utilitarian
motive. Utilitarian shopping is founded on need and function. A shopper thus shops based on

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their needs and the function of the good in question. The main utilitarian motivation is meeting
one’s basic needs. The motivation also drives a person towards purchasing goods that have
greater convenience. Men’s motivations to shop are mainly utilitarian in nature. The implication
is that men shop to solve certain problems that they could be experiencing. Men undertake
shopping after following certain logical steps. Men follow the functional approach when
shopping.
The second motivation to shop is hedonic. Hedonic shoppers are motivated by pleasure.
Hedonic shoppers purchase items because they love the items. Hedonic shoppers desire to have
fun and shop as a method of getting entertained. The playful nature of shopping prompts one to
shop. Women are mostly hedonic shoppers who attach emotions to the shopping experience.
Women are drawn to shopping, owing to the emotion attached to shopping (Abrudan, 2016).
While men use facts and data to do shopping, women buy items without doing a lot of research.
Men are likely to checking items online and doing a comparative analysis then shopping offline.
Women are, therefore attracted to online shopping due to the fun nature of the shopping
experience.
Shopping Frequency
Studies have indicated that men do not trust online shopping. However, it is important to
go beyond shopping attitudes and study shopping frequency. The number of male shoppers, both
online and offline, has been increasing over the years. However, studies indicate that men shop
less frequently compared to women. In addition, men prefer traditional methods of shopping,
such as visiting a mall as opposed to shopping online (Rafiq, 2018). Men who visit physical
shops spend a significantly less amount of time shopping compared to their female counterparts.
Women engage in online shopping. Women purchase products they find online frequently. Men

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are not drawn to the idea of online shopping. In a household setup, women are involved in
shopping for household items such as foodstuffs. Women also purchase clothes for children. The
implication is that women are more frequent shoppers compared to men.

3. Subsection 2: Gender Role in Consumer Attitude Towards Shopping

Differences in Attitudes Towards Shopping
Women and men substantially different when it comes to their attitudes to shopping. Men
are mainly task-oriented shoppers (Mohanasundaram, Dwivedi & Singh, 2017). Women tend to
be discovery-oriented shoppers. Men shop on a mission to fulfill a certain pressing need. On the
other hand, women are ready to adjust their choice of goods if they feel that doing so would
result in a satisfactory outcome. Women are on the hunt for goods and services that they feel will
fulfill their needs. Men like shopping without making a lot of effort. Women like visiting
websites and making comparisons. When an online shop proposes that it will offer discounts,
women are likely to be attracted by the prospect that ye will get discounts, and this may increase
the urge to shop. Men are also inclined to brands, while women are inclined to services. Men are
likely to be loyal to brands, while women are likely to be loyal to good service. When men
realized that a certain brand works well, they are likely to stick to that particular brand. In
contrast, women become addicted to outlets that offer good and quality services.
Differences in Materialism and Conspicuous Consumption
Studies indicate that men are more materialistic compared to women. Men restrict their
spending habits compared to women. The behavior has an impact on spending patterns,
particularly spending on items such as clothes. Women tend to shop for high-end fashion
products that will make a statement (Segal & Podoshen, 2013). Women like items that show that

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they belong to a certain class. Women like displaying goods that show that a certain class.
Women also tend to work to glorify the social status of men. Women show the male social
statues of their male partners through spending. Even when women are earning less, they tend to
spend significant amounts of money. In a patriarchal society, women tend to be seen as the
property of men. There is a demand for men to spend on women.
Current Research

Brief Overview
The topic of gender and consumer shopping experience is a highly researched field with
multiple scholarly pieces of literature indicating extensive differences. Currently, research shows
that gender is an external factor that influences customer behavior. Meyers-Levy & Sternthal
(1991), examined message processing and shopping behavior. Mazumdar & Papatla (1995)
explored gender differences in the perceptions of price promotions while Alreck & Settle (2002)
studied how attitudes towards gender differences form. While many researchers have explored
underpinning concepts that are a cause for significant gender differences in shopping behavior,
there sufficient research on whether gender differences in shopping behavior are influenced by
the age factor. This research will explore gender differences in shopping behavior among young
male and female adults, to determine whether age is a key determinant or motivator for the
different shopping behavior among the two genders. 
Hypothesis
The study hypothesizes that young women shop more frequently per month, compared to their
male counterparts.

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References

Abrudan, I. N. (2016). Does Gender Really Affect Shopping Patterns? Studia Universitatis Babes
BolyaiNegotia, 61(2), 5-29.
Alreck, P., & Settle, R. B. (2002). Gender effects on Internet, catalogue and store shopping.
Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 9(2), 150-162.
Keech, J., Papakroni, J., & Podoshen, J. S. (2019). Gender and differences in materialism, power,
risk aversion, self-consciousness, and social comparison. Journal of International
Consumer Marketing, 1-11.
Mazumdar, T., & Papatla, P. (1995). Gender difference in price and promotion response. Pricing
Strategy & Practice, 3(1), 21.
Meyers-Levy, J., & Sternthal, B. (1991). Gender differences in the use of message cues and
judgments. Journal of marketing research, 28(1), 84-96.
Mohanasundaram, K., Dwivedi, A., & Singh, M. (2017). Attitude towards shopping among
gender–an empirical study. International Journal in Management & Social Science, 5(7),
429-442.
Rafiq, M. Y. (2018). Gender Difference Online Shopping. Available at SSRN 3170212.
Segal, B., & Podoshen, J. S. (2013). An examination of materialism, conspicuous
consumption and gender differences. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37(2),
189-198.