What do you think? Who is the harder sex to shop for? Are women tougher to shop for? Are guys the difficult ones on your gift list? I definitely have my opinion based on the hours of thought that I put into giving the best gifts for both sexes!
Comparing Daily Routines:
One gifting category is giving gifts that are additions to someone's routine, for example giving someone their favorite item that they always use, every day. For guys, a lot of times their potential gifts in this category get reduced down to very few items because most guys (not all) are more minimal in their routines that women. Shocker, I know! But when you think about all of the things that a woman does on a daily basis you get a lot more material items than for most males. For example, let's look at the morning routine:
Women - Hair: hair mask, shampoo, conditioner, detangler, leave-in conditioner, heat protectant, de-frizzing serum, blow dryer, flat iron, curling iron, hair spray
Men - Hair: all-in-one shampoo and conditioner, hair gel
Now that's only the hair, and of course not every woman has this many steps and not every man has this simple of a routine, but you get my point. Based on just the start of the day, there are differences that result in a much different shopping list and the person who uses more things in their day is generally easier to shop for.
When you extrapolate this small example to the rest of the daily routine you can see that there are more opportunities to grab a few items within a woman's routine to get her favorite item or even upgrade her favorite item. For example, if she does her hair every morning with the same blow dryer she's had since high school, a great upgrade is a new must-have trendy blow dryer.
The Shopping Experience:
Now, let's think about how the retail market positions itself for buyers. If you walk into any store, mall or log onto any online site that sells to both men and women, you will notice a few things. The women's department is the majority of the store. I'm thinking about my local Nordstrom store right now. The store has two levels and about 30% of just one level is dedicated to menswear and men's accessories.
Just think about that, two people--a man and a woman, walk into a store to buy a gift for the other person. The man has 70% of one level and 100% of another level to shop for the woman. The woman has 30% of one level do her gift shopping for the man. The retail market definitely favors the female buyer, and usually that is great because women do the majority of shopping year-round, but when it comes to gift shopping, that makes it a little harder to find that perfect something for the man or men in your life.
Keep it Simple:
So what am I getting at here? That women are easier to shop for, yes but you know that already. How do we overcome this roadblock? Whenever I'm shopping for a guy, I know that I need to be specific in order to get it right! What does that mean? It means that if they are really into something--music, fishing, working out etc., then to get them something that they really love it has to be the exact brand and the exact type of something that they like. There are plenty of women that also love their specificity, but because there are less options that cater to men, they get to be even more specific.
The Caveat:
I say that men are harder to shop for, and I say that as a woman. Now, if you're a man reading this you might be thinking that women are the hardest to shop for and that's fair, we might not be the easiest to shop for and maybe the women in your life are tougher than most, but hopefully with the points listed above, you realize how many options you have.
This leads me to my last point, we are more familiar with our own gender or the gender we most identify with. If you're a woman you most likely find it easier to shop for other woman and if you're a man you might find it easier to shop for men. Either way familiarity is key! Get to know your gift recipient and your life will be so much easier, well, at least when it comes to gift giving!
Very Happy Gifting!
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VHM