Trends

Women cultivate a love for shopping solo

Forty-year-old Mary Ellen has a mother, three sisters, a husband, two children and a best friend. So, who ranks as her favorite shopping partner among this posse? “Me, myself and I,” laughs the publishing executive. “At the same time, it’s both relaxing and functional. I get time to myself and I buy what I need quickly and easily.”

According to Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor, 41 per cent of female respondents stated that they shop alone when buying apparel. Data from the Monitor further suggests that women cultivate this penchant for solo shopping over time. An ever-increasing percentage of women in advancing age groups stated that they shop alone, from 31 per cent of women aged 16 to 24, 38 per cent of those 25 to 34 years, 49 per cent of those 33 to 55 years, and 51 per cent of those aged 55 to 70 years. “Shopping alone clearly has its advantages, and women appear to recognise and appreciate them over time,” offers Kim Kitchings, director of research and strategic planning for Cotton Incorporated. According to Kitchings, those advantages include efficiency, privacy, an opportunity for personal time, and even the avoidance of a little friendly competition. “There are women who are afraid that others will steal their fashion ideas,” she explains. “If they find something good, they often like to keep the source a secret for themselves.”

Research from the Monitor likely supports Liebman’s observations: 42% of men, nearly identical to the percentage of women surveyed, said they shopped alone for apparel. However, men were far more likely than women to name their spouse as a shopping partner; 38% of male respondents, compared with 13% of their female counterparts, took their significant other along with them on shopping trips.

Saving time is clearly a concern for today’s female shoppers, but what about saving money? “Aside from the increased tendency to cross-shop a variety of retailers, there’s a cachet in our society to citing how little we spent for a garment. It makes us look like smart and savvy shoppers,” shares Cotton Incorporated’s Kitchings. “Some women may feel that they’re being judged for their choices and their related costs; shopping alone may alleviate that. No matter how much or how little they spend, some women want to keep their financial habits private.

According to the Monitor, one in three female consumers said that they browsed the Internet for clothes, which is up significantly from one in 20 a decade ago. In addition to the Web, women are educating themselves in a variety of ways which make them better - and hence, more independent - shoppers. Magazines, style shows, celebrities and a host of other factors all influence how women develop a sense of fashion today.

Source: Cotton Incorporated