Are You a Shopaholic or Shopping Phobic?

I know people who would happily spend all day in a busy shopping mall. They love being able to enter all the big name stores and usually come out with a few purchases. They like the atmosphere and enjoy spending a lot of their leisure time in a mall.

I've been to several different malls and they all seem to have the same atmosphere and usually the same stores. I never feel comfortable in a mall, because I don't like being in an enclosed space with hundreds of others. It's really not the sort of place where I want to hang around and I don't intend to make any impulse purchases.

 

I'd have to say that I'm more of a shopaholic, but not to spend money exactly. I'm a coupon queen and bargain hunter supreme! I love seeing how much stuff I can get for free or as low a cost as possible. I'm an expert on ferreting out the best deals.

 

I am not a big shopper, I know what I want when I go into the store I get it and get out. When I was younger I loved to shop, now it is just not that thrilling to me.

 

I feel perfectly comfortable in malls, but don't particularly enjoy shopping for things like groceries or even clothes. I love bookshops and can spend hours browsing in them. I also love browsing at antique fairs, though I don't often come across things that I really want. And I enjoy spending time at garden centres, though again I don't often buy anything any more because I've already built up such a big collection of little trees (bonsai in training) that I'm seriously short of space.

 

I am not a huge people person so I tend to avoid many situations where many people will be. I wouldn't really consider myself a shopaholic or phobic of it. To me it is what it is. I write down a list of what I need and just go in and get my stuff then go back home. I'm never really in there for longer than I have to be.

 

That's one type of shopping I do approve of. I spent 13 years in bookshops, working in 4 different stores and running 2 of them. It was a joy to me to spend so much time unpacking and displaying books, ordering books, selling books, talking about books and being surrounded by them all day.

 

The question at hand is in err and needs to be gender specific in order for it to work properly.
Call it sexist if you must but a bit of thought and memory will best prove my point.

When the ladies are approached concerning shopping there seems to be some affinity towards it. Like it is actually a part of the female psych or id that must be fed and nurtured. Shopping is never a huge task for most of the ladies for it could be compared to a day of golf for the men. The ladies, it seems, can make an enjoyable outing of the task and can literally window shop for hours on end with only a gnosh in between, whilst sometimes dragging her loved ones behind her kicking, cussing and screaming the whole time, (and that's just the husband.)

Men may seem phobic but are really preservationists. We do like to preserve our sanity rather than have it tested so when the guys see they absolutely have to have something, that is as far as the shopping goes. Get to the necessary store, grab the tool or whatever, throw the money at the cashier, then get out. Everything that might be needed can be done during the half-time show of a sports event.

Men do not shop (normally) and the ladies do and are normally very good at it. But, a note of caution: It was not Adam who was shopping for more fiber. It was Eve who came upon the sale, and salesmen and shop keepers have kept the tradition ever since by looking toward the ladies to sell their next line of "forbidden fruit." Now, if the tree had an engine in it or a chain saw involved, it might have been different.

 

@Bobby Cole, I'm sorry but I have to disagree strongly. I'm female, and I absolutely hate to shop. I always have. Even when I was a teenager and wanted lots of new clothes and "stuff", I still hated shopping - I would go in and get what I needed and get out. Now, it's like pulling teeth for me. The only new clothes I've gotten in the past 5-6 years are ones my mother bought for me. I even stopped doing the grocery shopping about 6 months ago - now my husband does it. It doesn't bother him at all. When our son was still at home, 9 times out of 10, it was my husband who would take him shopping when he needed anything.

 

That is the one singular thing wrong with generalizing: There are always the exceptions, for which cause this humble gentleman is set to take pause and apologize.

But, you have to admit that the advertisers are set toward the feminine agenda. Payless shoes sells both men and womens shoes but they sell 2 for 1 lady's shoes which you will never see for the men. Even Walmart is geared (in clothing) more toward the ladies of any age. A huge section for the ladies and one half the size for men. Other department stores dedicate huge areas to "designer and celebrity designed womens" clothing and styles.
The restaurant and lounge industry leans heavily toward the female guest as does the hotel industry. (both of which is how I made my living in my secular career) When you do go shopping, especially at a mall or large department store or grocery, the "sitting or rest" area is dominated by men waiting for their significant others.

Believe me when I say that I am not crying in my Dr. Pepper over it. My wife is not a heavy duty shopper either, but she does have her moments whereas her eyes have the word "sale" written all over them. But, with the help of Amazon Prime, that particular feeding frenzy has been minimalized............sometimes.

 

Bobby, I'm sorry if I sounded harsh - I didn't mean to. After reading what I wrote, it does sound kind of snarky - it wasn't meant that way.

And, like they say, stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason!!

 

My goodness dear Mal ! Nothing at all was taken from your reply other than a spontaneous bit of truth, for which this gentleman is rarely hurt by. When I write, I do have a habit of generalizing, especially when speaking about large groups, and generalizations can be a bit dangerous especially if one is waxing whimsically. If I were to take offense, in a free thinking exchange as this is no less, it would be I who would be deemed, "snarky,"
And now, I must go and check out what the total definition of "snarky" is so I can make sure that I do not really want to be one. After all, in today's lingo, it might be cool to be a snark and snark on snarkily!

 

I'm another exception, being a woman who has never enjoyed shopping for clothes or buying shoes. I also know several men who love buying new clothes, fashion shoes etc.

Advertisers will target either men or women, depending on the brand. They are probably the worst stereotypers as they want all of us to fit into a particular market sector. However, we are all individuals and as individual we don't necessarily have to fit any stereotype.

 

Well, I'm a shopaholic trying to reform into a shopaphobic. I will say that price REALLY counts with me. I practically turns somersaults trying to get a good deal. I rarely pay full price at the grocery store and I always make my way to the clearance section of stores. I don't go to the mall that much as I don't live very close to one.

I do a fair amount of shopping online, but again I find ways to keep the costs down. Buying discounted gift cards is one of my favorite ways to lower the cost of products.

 

It depends. I have always been a shopaholic when it comes to technology and digital media, but I can say I am a shopping phobic when it comes to clothes buying. God, I hated it ever since I was young and my mother forced me to go clothes shopping.