Shopping

Shopping is an art. Most girls and women learn this art instinctively. They take to it like ducks to water. Perhaps it is in their genes.

Usually, when a man needs a shirt or a pair of shoes, he goes to the nearest shop and picks one out. He is seldom worried about the colour or the design. He is happy as long as he is comfortable in it, he looks good in it and the price fits his budget.

On the other hand, the situation is different with a girl or a woman. She will go to a lot of shops. She will compare designs, prices and fittings. She will try on everything, even those she does not like. After that, she haggles about the price. Only then will she buy what she wants. Of course, this is a general statement. There are some men who love to shop and some women who hate it. However, on the whole, they are few and far between.

As proof, we need only to go to any shopping mall during a festival or holiday sale. Who forms the majority of shoppers? Women of course. Who has the saddest and longest faces among the shoppers? Why, it is the men, who have to accompany their wives, mothers or girlfriends. In fact, in Malaysia especially, it can be said that shopping is the number one most favoured leisure activity.

A scientific study made on shopping has produced interesting information. It says that shopping is a very good physical exercise. When people walk for hours up and down the shops, they burning hundreds of calories. When they do this while carrying heavy bags of shopping, even more calories are burned. What a fun way to exercise!

The study has also revealed why women are more alert than men in their old age. It is all due to shopping. A retired man usually spends most of his time in front of the television with a remote control in one hand and a bag of potato chips in the other. A retired woman prefers to occupy herself at the mall. Even if she does not buy anything, she keeps her mind active by merely browsing, window-shopping and walking around.

Therefore, one can say that shopping is good for you. Besides, all the health benefits, even window shopping, gives us an opportunity to look at, touch, feel and try on beautiful things. That in itself is a pleasure.