Why Women Loves Shopping, Why Men Hate it

You see it in every shopping mall: men sitting outside the clothing store waiting for the wife to come out. Why is it that women love to try on every pair of shoes before deciding whether to buy anything at all, and men want to get out of the mall seconds after they get in?

Women, by contrast, were the primary gatherers in early hunter-gatherer cultures, so they feel a need to check every berry on the bush to make sure they're getting the best deal.

That's why, during this holiday season, you're likely to see a lot of men cooling their heels, and a lot of women shopping until they drop. It's mandated (or should we say human-dated) by the evolutionary progress that guided us out of the woods and into the mall.

There was, however, one area where the data did not entirely support the hypothesis. The men didn't really think they were out for the kill when asked about shopping. Apparently, there's a lot of difference between the Serengeti and the shopping mall.


Data strongly supported the idea that modern women use skills dating back to their days as gatherers while on shopping expeditions. And men really are still on the hunt. All these centuries later, he adds, that difference persists. Not always, of course. Some men love shopping, and some women hate it, he noted, but the masses generally conform to his expectations.