One significant service that retailers should provide would be a “husbands’ chair” for the partners of their female shoppers. And another would be free wifi or a TV to go with the chair . These will pay off in no time for retailers.
Females love shopping. Men, not so much. But women love to have their male companions accompany them when they are shopping. Sometimes to get a second opinion, which can be ignored, and sometimes for their wallets. Okay, that may be sexist, but personally, it would be accurate. I have been it so many times.
While women are keenly interested, browsing through the stores, particularly women’s ready to wear, the men are idle and frustrated. They are bored and may start insisting that the couple move on. That could mean a loss of sales.
Providing a chair for the bored male, and maybe some wifi or a TV for them to use, will provide the woman with more time to shop without being interrupted. This would provide a greater opportunity for increased sales for the retailer. The more time customers spend in their shops, the more likely the store is to make a sale, or perhaps more than one.
Women are inclined to browse. It is part of their biological drive to sort through possible food options carefully before making a selection. To them, not having many options to choose from means no choice. Women shop more and spend more time in doing so. They are gatherers, making sure their choice is the right one, looking for perfection. In gathering fruit, they can seek out only the ripe ones.
Men are utilitarian in their shopping behaviour: they are hunters; they go into a store; buy more or less their objective, and then leave. Too much choice is no choice at all. It is confusing.
Men, the primordial hunters, cannot be as choosy. As hunters they feel they may not get another chance to strike. They see game, they act. Even when the opportunity is only approximately correct, they act and move on. It wasn’t a moose; it was a deer. Oh well, it will be meat on the table. They are used to lying in wait, periods of inactivity to gain an opportunity.
Men usually travel light, as befits a hunter on the move following his game. Women usually feel the need to be more equipped when they travel. In our household, it is a carry on for me and two suitcases for my wife, plus a purse and carry on. I am travelling quickly through the woods; she is moving camp to a new location.
Retailers job is to lure shoppers into their stores and make them stay longer. With a comfortable waiting area for the male, the woman is under less pressure to leave and has the time to comfortably make her decisions to buy. Even if the male is inactive, as long as he is amused he will be fine. Give him wifi and a phone, and he is happy. It is his duck blind, his ambush hideout.
While such a waiting area takes up some valuable floor space, consider the sales opportunity that increased time spent in store can create for the likelihood for a purchase.
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