A couple shopping
2000 British women in relationships were asked a range of questions and the results show that shopping gives women more satisfaction than sex.
The study discovered that 55% of British women admitted that shopping is more satisfying than sex and one in ten purchases they make whilst shopping never gets worn. A staggering average of £697.23 will be spent on clothes that will stay at the back of the wardrobe.
The survey also revealed that shopping was more likely to be in our subconscious mind than sex. Revealing that the average British female thinks about shopping six times a week compared to the four times a week we spend indulging in sexy thoughts.
The Ultimate Shopper is a brand new and exclusive series on TLC which puts fashionistas head-to-head in a series of style-based challenges to find Britain’s Ultimate Shopper. The host of TLC’S new TV series Holly Valance comments by saying that ‘For many of us ladies, a great day out at the shops is the ultimate indulgent guilty pleasure.The odd impulse buy that never gets worn is a small price to pay given how much satisfaction a spot of retail therapy can give! We hope our new series ‘Ultimate Shopper’ will remind people just how much fun shopping can be and how incredible British high-street fashion is.’
We have all been in the situation ladies where we drag our partners along with us when we shop and the study showed that men and women have rather different ideas about the perfect period of time to spend browsing the shops.
On average women stated that their ideal trip would last an hour and a half but men said that they could only last an hour before getting bored and a third of women said that their partner’s attention span dwindles after only thirty minutes.
Also, a third of shopping trips with partners end in an argument and the top three bribes that women result to are food, alcohol and sex. Over half of the women in the survey said that they result to bribes and 70% of women stated that buying their man a tasty treat was the best way to satisfy his boredom.
In an effort to avoid an argument, 44% of women often choose friends and family members as their ideal shopping companions. However, 40% of women would rather go on the shopping trip alone.
A small 16% of those surveyed said that their partner would be their perfect shopping buddy but this is possibly due to the fact that their partner rarely or never offers helpful opinions when they try on new outfits on a shopping trip together.
Not only do women avoid shopping with their partners, it seems that many mothers even prefer going shopping with a child than a partner, as 23% say their other half is more difficult to shop with than their kids.
The findings also suggest that for many of us it’s the act of shopping that gives the ultimate buzz, even if we do not end up wearing the clothing. 12% of clothes British women buy will never be worn and will languish in cupboards unloved an unused. Additionally, 9% of the women in the poll admitted to banishing a third of their new clothing to the back of the wardrobe for good.
It isn’t just clothes that pile up in the back of the wardrobe; unused accessories seem to be there as well. Over a third of women currently own at least three pairs of shoes that they have never worn and nearly a fifth have at least three handbags that are gathering dust.
Across the country, women in Northern Ireland are most likely to admit that good shopping is always better than good sex. The findings also revealed that those in London are least likely to choose their partner as their shopping buddy, while women in Northern Ireland are most likely to choose to shop on their own.
As well as arguments with partners and stacking up unworn clothing in you wardrobe, it seems that many female shoppers also suffer from the financial stresses that shopping can bring on; over a quarter of the women surveyed admit to feeling guilty about the amount they spend while shopping and 8% say that they know it’s wrong for them to spend every single time they hit the shops.
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