Excursion Post: Men Buy, Women Shop!!!

I personally chose the shopping excursion because shopping plays an important role in my life, as it does in most women’s lives. Women shop to purchase both essential and optional goods, to relax, and to socialize. Before conducting the excursion a few things I have noticed were: that men tend to spend less time in a store than women, they generally know what they are looking for, and ask questions to make the process a lot faster; women judging from my own family and friends often go to the store for a certain item and leave with multiple items. I have observed men picking higher priced items at regular price, when other men are with them; it seems the purchase price relates to status and power. On the other hand women bond on discounted items, sometimes seeking even better discounts in the presence of their female friends, this status being communicated by deal-hunting expertise. I also noticed working in for retail that women tend to be more loyal shoppers than men. Women tend to have faith in the store regardless if they encounter problems, such as not finding the size or item they were looking for. But since the men don’t seem to enjoy the shopping process as much they get dissatisfied easily and may not return and/or will resort to online shopping.

I conducted my excursion at Bloomingdale’s because it has several departments from adults to children and it would have been a different crowd than what I am use to, shopping at Macy’s due to the change in dynamics and the varied prices of the clothing. I went in having the impression that the women’s clothing would be much more costly than the men’s clothing. But upon observation various items in the men’s department was more costly than that of the women’s department. The majority of the men’s outerwear was much more costly than women’s but I also noticed that they were often made of a heavier, warmer material. For instance I compared the men’s Burberry Trench Coat which cost $1,195 to a women’s rain trench coat which costs $210; there weren't many options for men’s trench coats but the few they had ranged from $395- $2,097. The women department definitely had a larger variety ranging from $220- $1,095 depending on the brand. 

There was often more women shopping at the time when I went to the store which was around the 3:00 in the afternoon. The women also seemed to browse more and also was the majority of people going into the dressing rooms. Men, in contrast, were more averse store shoppers and much more focused, they seemed to be shopping only because they intend to buy a specific item and wanting to get in and out quickly. The children's department overall prices are quite similar. However, various items such as jackets and tee shirts are more costly female children's section. I believe this is so because of the frills and accents that they consist of. You’ll generally see the mothers shopping for the children versus the dads. This excursion opened my eyes to the little things that make ones shopping experience different from the others. Sex definitely plays a great role in one's experience, as does age. 

            

The tables below were assembled to compare the pricing of similar items found in the men's, women's, and children's departments:

Women’s Clothing	Prices	Men’s Clothing	Prices
White Denim Skinnies	$199	Super Slim Fit Denim Jeans	$172
Destroyed Boot-cut Jeans	$210	True Religion Boot-Cut Jeans	$188
High Rise Denim Shorts	$98	Ralph Lauren Cargo Shorts	$75
Denim Vest	$88	Ralph Lauren Quilted Vest	$255
Classic Black Blazer	$385	Blue Blazer	$395
Rain Trench Coat	$210	Burberry Trench  Coat	$1,195
Rebecca Taylor: Leather Jacket	$595	Elie Tahari Evan Leather Jacket	$698
Maxi Dress (blue &green)	$198	Ralph Lauren Polo	$58.80
Floral Dress	$138	Marc Jacobs Cardigan	$228
Peplum Dress	$195	HUGO Dress Pants	$195

Female Children’s Clothing	Prices	Male Children’s Clothing	Prices
Infant Burberry Romper	175	Ralph Lauren Infant short Set	$55
Ralph Lauren Paisley Dress	$55	Burberry Boys Slim fit	$95
Monclear Hooded Nylon Jacket	$405	Burberry Toddlers Quilted Jacket	$165
Cuff Denim Shorts	$59-64 depending on size	Volcom Boys' Weirdo Tee	$16
Flowers by Zoe Toddler Tee	$40-45 depending on size	Vans Boys Classic	$30-35  depending on size