A Cross-National Study of Evolutionary Origins of Gender Shopping Styles: She Gatherer, He Hunter?
"The authors investigate gender shopping styles across countries and explore whether differences between male and female shopping styles are greater than differences in shopping styles between consumers across countries. The study develops a conceptual model to test Eagly and Wood's (1999) convergence hypothesis. Applied to shopping, this predicts that men and women should become more similar in shopping styles as traditional gender-based divisions in wage labor and domestic labor disappear. The results of a survey on shopping behavior across 11 countries indicate that men and women are evolutionarily predisposed to different shopping styles. Counter to the convergence hypothesis, differences in shopping styles between women and men are greater in higher-gender-equality countries than in lower-gender-equality countries. Empathizing—the ability to tune into someone's thoughts and feelings—mediates shopping style more for women, while systemizing—the degree to which an individual possesses spatial skills—mediates shopping style more for men. Results suggest that gender-based retail segmentation is more strategically relevant than country-based segmentation. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for international marketing theory and practice." Thanks: Tuesday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION We had nine foreign exchange students over the years, four young men from China, one young man from Japan, one young woman from Thailand, one young woman from Korea, and two young women from Spain. The Chinese all shopped like high school girls and for things high school girls would want to buy. We've known for a long time that gender differences magnify in gender-neutral environments. So, in Sweden men take masculine jobs and women take feminine jobs. On the other hand, in poor countries, women are more likely to take masculine jobs like engineering because they offer higher salaries. When women are not worried about living down on the Maslow hierarchy, they can relax and take jobs they like. Otherwise, women work to take jobs which pay more.
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