How do Women and Men Shop Differently?

Have you ever seen a woman shopping? They spend a lot of time comparing things and having fun while doing so. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to buy the first item they see at a store. When I decided to perform an offline customer research in Gurgaon from August to September 2021 (2 months), I came across a number of intriguing observations, one of which I will highlight here.

I shadowed and studied the behavior of 50+ shoppers at several Modern Trade stores like Big Bazaar. Shadowing is a valuable behavioral observation of a person in their natural surroundings that might lead to new ideas for user research, which is exactly what it accomplished for me.?

This piqued my curiosity on a very fascinating topic:?How do women and men shop differently?

The peculiar behavior of women to revisit an aisle comparing the same set of products until satisfied and men making up their minds quicker than women was something that I found common across stores. There would be several incidences where men would avoid going further into the aisle and would prefer staying on the outskirts of it. While women would go to the end of the aisle and compare products multiple times to make the right choice. ?

Well, with this, one thing I could say for sure was that MEN BUY and WOMEN SHOP! Men are hunters while women are gatherers!

My observation was further validated by secondary research when this image surfaced in one of the studies called ‘Impact of Gender on Consumer Purchasing Behavior’ in the IOSR-Journal of Business and Management.

Well, let us take this one step further. Why is this so that way it is?

The approach with which women and men shop differs tremendously!

According to a study conducted by the Wharton School of Business, men consider shopping to be a chore. They complete their tasks as soon as possible and are eager to get back on the road. In fact, a more pressing concern for them is whether they would get parking space near a store or not.

Women, on the other hand, consider shopping to be a joyful experience. They bring their friends shopping with them, are more open to other people's ideas, make impulse purchases, and spend a lot of time shopping.

Moreover, women are

• More deal-driven
• Explorers
• Influenced by social media
• Long term decision-makers
• More intuitive

Whereas men are

• Goal Oriented
• More analytical and logical
• Influenced by peers
• Impulsive
• Fast but frequent purchasers

This is also supported by a rising trend in the e-commerce sector, which shows that men spend more than women, particularly in the fashion area. The main cause of this phenomenon is probably that males have fewer options and want to spend less time shopping, therefore they tend to make purchasing decisions faster. Or is it vice versa?

To validate these findings, I conducted a survey with 150+ participants PAN India and found that women and men both are likely to make impulse purchases or deviate from their usual shopping list in different categories however men are more likely to exceed their monthly budgets or spend more as compared to women.

What's more intriguing is the effect of product prices on women's and men's purchasing decisions. There have been numerous studies that suggest that women are more price-conscious than men hence, they tend to compare products more and even leave them due to unjustified pricing.

Isn't this, however, excellent news for marketers? They can use these distinctions to tailor the purchasing experience for both women and men. They may strengthen their targeting and advertising by ensuring that they are reaching out to the proper gender in a better manner. Here are some suggestions for improving both women's and men's shopping experiences:

For women:

1.Create great customer service: Women like a collaborative and conversational style dialogue which can be utilized to a brand’s benefit by training sales representatives in stores to create conversations with customers to help them pick products.

According to the Wharton study, 29% of women identify “lack of help when needed” as the top problem to their shopping experience. However, with personal experience, we don’t want to be helped all the time. The below picture depicts something that can be done that shall tremendously help in improving the shopping experience.

To give you an example, when I needed to buy jeans for myself, I went to a Zara store first. I gathered a few prospects and proceeded to the trial room. None of them fit, so I walked on to find a representative who could assist me, but I was instead referred to the billing desk to see if my size was still available. Do you know?what I did? I?walked away.

Then I proceeded to Only, where I was greeted by a personal shopper who assisted me in selecting the perfect pair of jeans for me. Even though those pairs were about twice as expensive as the ones I had chosen in Zara, I was nevertheless satisfied. Simply because I had a much better experience.

2. Drive positive emotional outcome and reduce friction: Because shopping is a leisure activity that women like, marketers should focus on making the shopping experience pleasant both online and offline. It all comes down to how you make people feel. For example, if your website is quick and easy to navigate, you are more likely to keep visitors for a longer period of time. Personalized recommendations derived through using AI to track how customers feel in real time could also help customers feel more connected to your brand. (Here is an interesting HBR article to read more about it: using-AI-to-track-how-customers-feel-in-real-time)

3. Create a social media community: This makes a women's online buying experiences more social and inclusive. It makes her feel a part of the brand. And what’s more? Women love to be influencers either socially or amongst their peer groups. Hence, creating leadership boards can keep them engaged with your brand on a daily basis. According to?“Mindset-Driven Purchasing and the Female Shopper,”?55% of women that shop online, buy from a brand they interact with on social media.

This brings us to another important point, making your brand inspirational for women to feel proud while showing it off to their friends and family.

4. Advertise better: Advertisements should be more detailed with soft colors and music that display more feminine qualities. They should include beautiful lifestyle images. The same study as stated in the previous point also says that showing multiple images of a product from different viewpoints, or including a 360-degree spin, can increase online sales by 58%.

For men:

1.Create Convenience: For example, for a male-oriented e-commerce store, you would want to make the experience as basic and straightforward as possible. This would help them locate products easily and make a quick purchase. You’d also want to make your payment gateway faster with multiple payment options.

2. Communication should be concise: Focus on one main object with one or two obvious kinds of cues. Presenting hard data, showcasing a bigger picture as they think in a macro way and simplifying language are some ways.

3. Less is more: Keep their choices less and in every size. They often get too overwhelmed due to excessive choices leading to drop rates. Hence, it is best to keep their options to a minimum and increase the inventory volume on sizes.

4. Word of mouth is the key: Where women shy away from having the same dress or products like that of their peers, men love buying the same products as their friends. It saves them time, effort and gives them the quality assurance that they need. Also, it is more likely that he might become one of your loyal customers since men are more likely to buy the same product if they have brought it earlier.

5. Reminders work wonders: Indulge in frequent product purchase reminders as per their needs and that’s all you would need to retain them.?

All these insights are drawn from personal experiences and findings, hence, if you feel I missed something or if you do not agree to certain points, please feel free to add it in the comments for everyone to learn (including me). Healthy discussions are also welcome. Adios!???