This Just In: Men Can't Shop

Yeah, I kind of already knew this one:

In a recent report titled "Men in Grocery Stores," Putnam said that men shop inefficiently, which leads to missed sales for retailers.

Many men have difficulty finding items, forego buying rather than risk purchasing a substitute for an item on the grocery list and hesitate to ask for help if they can't find an item, Putnam said in her report.

"They never ask for help, except maybe from the butcher, but they always say they never had problems finding anything when the cashier at the register asks," she said.

Get that: The only guy they ask for help from is the dude that chops up animals for a living. Because there's no shame asking for help from the guy who handles knives.

I've never had any of these problems, myself. I usually know what I'm looking for when I go into a store and generally know the layout (hint, guys: There are signs above most aisles! Look up! It helps!). But I know enough guys who appear to be flummoxed by the supermarket that this doesn't surprise me at all. Also, I know lots of guys who give the impression they are flummoxed by the supermarket, so they don't have to do any of the shopping. Which is not the same thing, although it generally provides the same result.

Guys: Can you deal with the supermarket? Women: Do the men you know freak out in the produce aisle?

Tags: Shopping, Groceries, Men

Written by johnmscalzi Blog about this entry

This entry has 5 comments: (Add your own)

#5 Comment from camsavwin
5/30/07 9:50 AM | Permalink

My husband does all the grocery shopping, as he is much more efficient than I am, and besides, something about the grocery store puts me in a road-rage kind of mood (I think it's the lighting) and no one likes me when I'm like that. So he shops. AND he asks when he can't find something. I guess I just married a special guy.
#4 Comment from monponsett
5/30/07 6:57 AM | Permalink

A lot of men wander aimlessly through groceries on purpose.

Men like to look helpless in stores... that way, it gives them a good excuse to talk to strange women. "Where do they keep artichoke hearts?"

I've had men stop me twice this week when I was shopping. Once, it was to comment on stuff in my cart, and the other time it was to ask me what sort of pepper to use in a recipe. The latter was actually a good approach.

It's a two way street, too. I'll stop a stranger if I can't reach something on a taller shelf. If I were single, I'd have men in a snap just by doing that.... "Thank you... I'm making _____ with that tonight." "Sounds good." "Care to join me?" Boom. Date.

Most women don't figure men out until. sadly, they're tied to one for eternity. Monponsett Stacey works here to give the single girls some insight.

Keep on mind.. I met my husband by falling off a wall.
#3 Comment from drewciphermck
5/30/07 2:07 AM | Permalink

When I was a child I used to play "grocery store" with myself. The game was limited mostly to my telling make-believe customers where items were located on the shelves. I turned sixteen and worked for Alpha-Beta for two years and then I switched teams and worked at Smith's Grocery for a year. I have no trouble with grocery stores, like John said, the aisles are labeled. I suppose if you don't know how to read it can be difficult to find your way around. Any man that claims difficulty in finding items is either illiterate or lying.
#2 Comment from dioriog
5/29/07 9:24 PM | Permalink

OK, true confession: I, a woman, can't shop in a supermarket to save my life. Cooking anything more than pasta is beyond me and so shopping for food is scary and confusing. In fact, I've been banned by my-thank-goodness-he-CAN-cook-or-we'd-starve partner from shopping for meat after the time he asked me to pick up some chopped meat & I came home with 3 pounds of ground sirloin. Which I put, whole, into the freezer. Ahem. He made the world's largest meatloaf and told me to never buy meat again.
#1 Comment from marciepooh1976
5/29/07 4:01 PM | Permalink

I'm not convinced this isn't part of a plot to make sure men don't have to grocery shop, cook, or do dishes.

My father has been doing just fine with the majority of the food shopping and cooking for many years. (He dislikes cooking less than Mom.) The only problem with the groceries is he has a hard time remembering to get things that Mom and my little sister like (or teh rest of us when we were home). He's very good at buying the staples and planning for meals. His major culinary flaw is poor multi-tasking ability. The meat gets to the table and then the veggies and then the bread/rice/potatos are ready...

I generally find all grocery stores a bit daunting myself. Most trips I just go up and down every aisle (or I use the signs) No two are arranged the same and just when I had one all figured out they went and changed to layout! What's a girl suppose to do when she only needs a loaf of bread?

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This Just In: Men Can't Shop