Page 387 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

For the last type of shopper, shopping is a social act.
Social shoppers travel in pairs or threes or even groups

of five or six. Laughing and chatting, they flit through the

stores, fingering cashmere, modeling hats, and spritzing

colognes on one another. Since the purpose of the trip is

mainly social, making purchases is optional. One

subgroup of the social shopping group, however, shops
seriously, usually in pairs. These shoppers don’t need a

mirror; they have one another. Their voices ring through

the dressing room: “Lydia, what do you think of this

peach color on me?” “Mom, does this bathing suit make

me look fat?” “Ooo-wee, girl, that skirt looks good on

you!” If the shopping trip is fruitful, so much the better. If
not, the social shopper is undaunted. There is, after all, a

food court and a sit-down restaurant that serves yummy

pumpernickel croutons with its salad. The social shopper

almost never has a shopping trip she doesn’t enjoy,

unless she has to shop alone.

Why do so many women love to shop? The reasons

are as varied as the individuals themselves. As long as

money, pleasure, and companionship motivate humans,

the bargain hunter, the pleasure seeker, and the social
shopper will keep the cash registers humming at

shopping centers everywhere.

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