When I am forced to shop, and I don't mean for groceries, I tend to have a one track mind. I know why I am there, so I take my bearings, and off I go, ignoring any other displays between me and the object of my hunt. If I want shoes, for example, I scan my surroundings, spot the department (hopefully), and make a beeline.
Sue, on the other hand, cannot often make it past the front door before something or other catches her eye. She gets to her purposed destination eventually, but she tends to take a roundabout way.
In terms of evolutionary roles, it makes sense because, for the most part, men were hunters and women were gatherers. I am sure that there was some room for variance, but this is pretty much as it was as far as we can tell.
Again, with room for variance, this genetic predisposition still seems to be intact. At least it is very strong in me. Not that I want to actually go real hunting, if you know what I mean.
Of course, nobody in this household is really shopping at all lately due to C19, unless you count Amazon.
Speaking of which, I just remembered that I need to order something, so TTFN.
I have both methods of shopping in big stores. But if I'm in a smaller store which has packed shelves of interesting things (like a lot of our tourist shops around here) I'll definitely browse. I used to just go up and down all the aisles in a grocery. Now I'm irked when I have to only go one direction and would rather skip some of the aisles...but must traverse them all. You've given me food for thought.
ReplyDeleteI am certainly a "straight for the goods" shopper. I even make my grocery list to follow the layout of the store. And nine times out of ten I am only shopping around the perimeter anyway. My wife is not the meander type of shopper either and in fact truly dislikes shopping at all. That is how I have become the designated shopper in the house, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteGood chuckle this morning, AC.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a beeline shopper too. I was more like Sue but Covid has me beelining too. Who wants to browse when your life is at risk?Besides the one way aisles drive me crazy!
This post is so true and Grenville so agreed when I showed him the photo. I tended to wander more several months ago than now. We go to the store together, but work from a list to lessen dawdling time. Yes, Amazon is handy but I have bought few things online the past several months. However, from the increasing deliveries in our package room at the mill apt, lots of folks are buying online.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up TTFN before I wrote this comment. I am a beeline shopper, too, always have been. I am not fond of having to shop. :-)
ReplyDeleteI too am a very “focused” shopper..... in and out as quickly as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe genetics of it actually shape brain regions and neural connections differently.... so that the typical “male” brain is more inclined to this linear approach and the typical “female” brain is more inclined to a branched approach. Obviously, neural circuitry is quite variable, so that the differences occur along a spectrum..... just like for gender identity, orientation, etc.
PipeTobacco
Interesting to consider...For the last 30 years or so, usually one or another condition has made it slightly or more painful to walk and that has made me rather a beeline shopper. Still, bookstores are certainly an exception.
ReplyDeleteI am like you. I rarely window shop or browse in a store.
ReplyDeleteShopping may also be a cultural thing. I shop like you do. Find what I want and get the hell out.
ReplyDeleteI can be either kind of shopper--brick and mortar or online--LOL! But yes--we women can often "window shop" our way through stores. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat picture, too. Did I ever tell you about a friend whose uncle's tombstone says "Toodeloo"?
ReplyDeleteThat explanation makes sense. My mother is like Sue and I am much more like you. However, in a plant nursery or a bookstore, I do like to browse.
ReplyDeletePut me in a bookstore and I am off. Put me in a clothes store and it's most likely direct to what I need. But your explanation does make sense.
ReplyDeleteI think the hunter/gatherer thing is probably true. That said, I shop like a man--when I shop. At the grocery store I have a list. Actually, I don't enjoy 'shopping' Other than groceries, I go in, get what I wanted, and get out. After paying for it, of course. I once spent a miserable half day with a group of friends in a tourist sort of town, going from cutesy shop to cutesy shop. All expensive stuff, all attractive, but not my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteI loathe shopping. I just hustle in, if I have to. The last time was when JB had surgery. Maybe it was when he had his bad cold in the fall. sigh.
ReplyDelete