MALE SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR: IMPLICATIONS FOR RETAIL MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
CHONG HSUEH SHAN
CHONG HSUEH SHAN
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Abstract
Although there exists an extensive body of literature on shopper orientations and consumer
behaviour, much of the focus has been placed on female shoppers. Male shoppers, on the
other hand, have been neglected hitherto, even though they make up a significant, and
probably growing, proportion of the consumer population. This study, using a sequential
mixed method design (which involves a qualitative and quantitative phase), has attempted
to provide in-depth insights into the following: (i) perceptions and realities of male
shopping behaviour; (ii) shopping orientations and motivations of male shoppers; (iii)
retailer factors that have an influence on male shopping enjoyment.
From the qualitative research, three common stereotypes of male shopping behaviour:
"Quick and Decisive", "Impatient, Whining and Unwilling" and "Stymied by Feminine"
were unveiled. The researcher then sought to demonstrate how actual male shopping
behaviour belies these stereotypes.
Besides, this research has attempted to carry out segmentation of the male shoppers based
on their shopping orientations (instead of just using socio-economic variables alone) using
quantitative measures such as factor analysis and bivariate tests. It has been found that men
in Singapore generally can be classified into three distinct shopper types, they are "hedonic
shoppers", "economic shoppers" and "apathetic shoppers", with "economic shoppers" being
the most prevalent. This is contrary to past literature which suggests that males are
generally price-insensitive. This research has also found out that hedonic shoppers are
generally young, while apathetic shoppers are likely to be older.
Finally, this research has also sought to uncover a host of retailer attributes that play an
important role in contributing to men's shopping enjoyment. The results suggest that "mall
features", "ancillary facilities", "value-added features" and "special events" are the broad
retailer categories that are significant in affecting male shoppers' enjoyment. In particular,
men place great importance on attributes such as "cleanliness of the shopping centre", "high
quality customer service" and "good product knowledge of sales personnel".
To conclude, this study provides useful implications for retail management and marketing
strategies.
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2002
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