By observing and surveying patrons at two Midwestern gift stores over three holiday seasons, a marketing professor has found that men generally greet holiday shopping with desperation, abruptness, lateness and discomfort.
Mary Ann McGrath, assistant professor of marketing at Loyola University of Chicago, found that the closer it gets to Christmas, the more male customers there are. And, she says, they tended toward "large, rapid, spontaneous and often random purchases.""He came into the store 15 minutes before closing time," she says of one customer, "and quickly chose a bracelet and a necklace for his wife. Then, as they were being wrapped, he also purchased an African beaded necklace that one of the saleswomen was wearing."
One male shopper in the survey said, "In my youth, I used to try to be creative and buy things I liked. It was a disaster. Now, I just ask for a list, and she's happy."
Women responding to the survey said they saw men's buying habits as "quick," "overgenerous but inappropriate" and "not as intuitive or thoughtful as women."
But one woman said, "Men make a lot of mistakes, but when they hit it right, they do so with panache."
The most treasured gifts that respondents listed, McGrath says, were those that were of sentimental value and personal gifts that were associated with the giver.
Although one woman said that her most treasured gifts were "the most expensive ones," most women indicated that a gift is most valued if they know that someone has really thought of them when choosing it.