More than a third of women actually HATE clothes shopping, research has found. Never finding anything they like, getting tired and being patronised by snotty sales assistants were just some of the reasons given for loathing a trawl round the city center.
Two thirds of women said they hate trying things on, 43% said they get stressed going in shop after shop and a third said it was physically exhausting.
The poll by online clothes retailer Marisota found that 48% of women have felt intimidated when clothes shopping.
In fact, 44% said they have been looked down upon in high-end shops and 38% said they feel daunted because they fear nothing ever looks nice on them.
One in ten said they feel embarrassed asking for their size, while 37% said they feel uncomfortable getting undressed in changing rooms.
The study found that 15% of women have even cried on a shopping trip, with the biggest reason being listed as looking to fat, followed by not being able to find anything; it’s a no win situation however, as 10% have shed a tear for being too skinny.
As a result half of self-conscious shoppers prefer to shop alone.
Coleen Nolan, brand ambassador for Marisota said:
‘’Retail therapy is a common phrase associated with women and shopping but for some females clothes shopping can be far from a therapeutic experience.
‘’If you aren’t a standard size clothes shopping is not always easy.
‘’Even women with a perfect figure will have been in the situation where everything they try on looks awful and despite searching high and low and trailing the high street for hours, go home empty handed.
‘’No female should ever be reduced to tears when shopping for clothes, it should be a pleasurable experience but shopping on the high street is a time consuming task whereas online shopping can take away many of the intimidating situations and will minimise stress.’’
Of the 2000 women polled, over half said they have never felt the ‘buzz’ that women talk about when bagging a bargain and a third said they don’t find the shopping process therapeutic.
The main reason women get stressed out in shops was not being able to find anything, with a hatred for trying clothes on in changing rooms coming a close second.
A third said it was because they hated queuing and 34% said they were ‘a funny shape’ which made shopping hard.
In fact:
- A wishful thinking 42% of the women studied said shopping would be much easier if they looked different;
- 80% said they would enjoy the experience of shopping more if they were thinner;
- Half said having a bigger bank balance would improve things.
The study additionally found that 44% of women dread the prospect of going shopping for a new outfit for a special event with weddings being voted as the worst.
A third of women now favour online shopping as it saves so much time, while a third said online retailers were more likely to have their size and a quarter said it’s hassle free to return unwanted items.
Coleen Nolan added:
‘’Many issues that women have with shopping whether it’s patronising sales staff or the physical exertions can be eliminated with internet shopping.
‘’Modern women work long hours and having to search in numerous different shops is a lengthy process.‘’
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