Guess what - men like shopping too!

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New research reveals that young men are a "shop happy" generation - keen to browse, enjoy the social side of shopping and make impulse purchases.

A new report investigating male shopper behaviour has been launched by Shoppercentric, an independent agency specialising in shopper research. The findings have revealed that 54 percent of men now shop every couple of days – meaning that the retail market can no longer afford to focus on Women as the primary target.  

"We conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative research for this report as we really wanted to know what made male shoppers tick and to specifically challenge some of the perceptions about their buying behaviour," said Danielle Pinnington, Managing Director at Shoppercentric. "The findings have been very insightful. Yes, they support the already established stereotype that men prefer to plan their shopping and spend less time browsing, but they also show that men get a lot of enjoyment out of shopping when they find a retail channel or store format that suits them. The issue we've identified, and needs to be addressed, is that most stores don't suit them - hence the internet being a preferred channel for many."

The key finding found that men are hardwired to be focused shoppers – wanting to cut through the clutter. 49 % of men agree that they only like to shop if they know what they're going to buy compared to 38% of women and 49 % of men agree that shopping for them is about getting in and out, compared to 32 percent of women.

Men do not like overcrowding, extensive queues or those that don't hold their interest or inspire them and appear more likely to visit independent stores than women.

The big spenders
When asked what the most money they have ever spent to impress a partner, men averaged £391 - in direct comparison women averaged £131 on their partner. 14 % of men spend over £200 on a partner's birthday present compared to just four percent of women.

Men don't dither about decisions
On a non-food shopping trip 36% of men visit 1-2 stores compared to only 23% of women. 4% of men will visit 10 or more shops versus 11% of women.
31 % of men often buy from the first shop they visit versus 23 percent of women.

Young men (18-24 year olds) seem to be exempt from most male shopping clichés and are happier to browse, enjoy the social side of shopping and what's more appear to be more impulsive than women:
63 % of this group are often reminded in store of something they want to buy versus a 48 percent male average (and 67 % of women).
38%percent buy an unplanned item compared to a 25% male average and 30 percent of women.
24% of men aged 18-24 (and 22% of men aged 25-34) agree with the statement that they love making shopping a social event with their friends, compared to a 12% male average and 22% of women.

Online is increasingly the heartland of reconnaissance for the male shopper. 
54% of men browse the internet every couple of days (compared to 47% of women).
The average online browse (non-food shopping) for both men and women lasts 30mins to an hour (30% of men and 31% of women).
Interestingly 4% of men and 6% of women said that they never shop online.

Pinnington concludes: "The research findings beg the question of why retailers try to merchandise to men and women in the same way when they clearly prefer different approaches. The more personal or more focused approach of a local independent better suits the male shoppers mindset – perhaps retailers can learn from this. Additionally if men are visiting fewer, more targeted stores, they arguably have a greater propensity to loyalty to particular stores - one of the retail markets holy grails.

It also has to be said that men don't hate shopping, but it would seem they dislike the current process because of the way most retail environments are based on the female shopper mindset. It is here that the online channel becomes a favoured approach as it offers men a much less laboured and clutter-free approach to shopping.

In an age when every £1 spent is hard won, no business should be complacent about the opportunity that men as shoppers represent. To better target this market there are a number of options for retailers to consider: having everything under one roof facilitating the speedy shopping trip; Smooth the journey by implementing a multi-channel strategy for men and recognise how important your website / social media platform could be in streamlining their in-store process; use Apps to facilitate the ability to check on deals, latest product news and reviews. Finally if there is one change a retailer makes, we'd recommend that it is opening up communications with male shoppers and find ways to re-connect not disconnect – talk to them – they won't bite!"

Don't miss the Retail Bulletin's 3rd Multichannel Retailing Summit – 1st February 2012. Click here for details.

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