Tag Archives: shopping

Brunettes better shoppers than blondes

Brunettes are better shoppers than blondes, a study has revealed.

Researchers found dark-haired women are more decisive, better at finding bargains and more likely to find the item they set out to purchase.

Blondes on the other hand make rash decisions, end up with clothes they don’t like and often buy for the short term rather than ‘investing’ in clothing that will last.

The study, which was commissioned by online market researchers OnePoll, also found brunettes usually spend less on a shopping trip than the average blonde and are far savvier when it comes to the sales.

And brunettes are the more decisive of the two, despite taking shorter shopping trips on average than their fair-haired counterparts.

A spokesman for OnePoll said: ”It’s an age old debate, but perhaps these results can settle the argument.

“Brunettes are perhaps more considered in their approach to shopping, weighing up the value of their purchases, where blondes are more free-spirited.

“Of course, there’s not necessarily a ‘right’ way to shop – but it is interesting that, when looking at hair colour, the results show a clear pattern in the different ways of making a purchase.”

The research examined 500 natural brunettes and 500 natural blondes to determine just who can claim to be the queens of retail.

And a darker head of hair leads to increased shopping success – brunettes proved more likely to find the exact thing they were after and were less likely to come home empty handed.

Brunettes also have the clearer conscience when it comes to shopping and regret fewer of their purchases – with blondes thirty per cent more likely to regret something they’ve bought.

That might explain why blondes are far more likely to buy something they didn’t intend to purchase when they set out – bringing back 2 unplanned items per trip.

It follows then that blondes have returned 23 per cent more items in the last twelve months and are also more likely to suffer a guilt trip over their shopping.

Blondes are likely to spend longer browsing in each shop – averaging a whopping 17 minutes per store.

The fairer heads are also more impulsive – blonde ladies have splashed £143 spontaneously on a single trip, while Brunettes were slightly more restrained with an average of £129.

And the brunettes have a firmer head on their shoulders proving far harder to lead astray – when shopping with friends a brunette will spend an extra £22 on average, but a blonde will happily whack an extra £27 on the bill.

Brown locks lead to increased patience with brunettes happy to wait for the price of an item they like to drop, while 58 per cent of blondes will plunge straight in and purchase without worrying about savings.

It’s no surprise then that blondes are shorter-sighted when it comes to their wardrobe decisions – a quarter say they purchase clothes as a short term fix, rather than something that will last them a long time.

Quarter of mums buy and wrap their own gifts

It’s a time for buying gifts, giving them and receiving them. But for a quarter of mums out there, they will be buying and wrapping their own presents from their children and partners.

The survey, conducted by Argos and YouGov, revealed that 31 per cent of mums start preparing for Christmas before October and more than half buy between 11 and 50 presents in total at Christmas, while 67 per cent receive 10 or less in return.

Nearly one in five mums spends more than 24 hours in total shopping for Christmas presents, so it’s no wonder then that 48 per cent say they find Christmas shopping a tiring experience.

In recognition of all of their hard work Argos is opening the Mums’ Grotto for one day in central London on Saturday 26 November.

Visitors to the Grotto will be able to meet special ‘celebrity Santa’, TV presenter and mums’ favourite Jeff Brazier, who will be asking the mums what’s on their Christmas lists. As well as meeting ‘Santa’ the mums will be able to indulge in pampering treats, including massages and mini-makeovers, enjoy aglass of bubbly and go away with a special gift from Argos.

Jeff Brazier says: “It’s nice to be able to celebrate mums at a time of year that can be very focused on children. I’m looking forward to being able to treat some of the mums who spend months preparing to make Christmas a magical time for their families.”

Carl Nield, Brand Development Manager at Argos says: “Mums can be the unsung heroes of Christmas so we wanted to do something to recognise their efforts. We hope to make them smile on Saturday with some presents from our Christmas gift guide and pampering treats from our range of health and beauty products.”

The Argos Mums’ Grotto will be open from 9.30am to 4.00pm on Saturday 26 November at 7 Berners Mews, London W1T 3AN. For priority entry, mums can Tweet @Argos_Online #mumsgrotto and let us know what would be the ultimate treat for them this Christmas.

 

Shoppers already stockpiling Christmas food

Brits have already started to stock up on their ChristmasCupboard, according to new research.

The cupboard is filled with all sorts of festive treats including confectionary tins, savoury snacks like crisps and nuts and Christmas puddings, according to the study conducted by Asda.

The lastest income tracker shows that families now have less than £15 to spend each week, when compared to 2010, which means that spreading the cost ofChristmas is becoming more important than ever before.

Over three quarters of shoppers opt to shop ahead of November by buying a couple of treats each time they shop.

However, temptation is too much for some people with more than half admitting to dipping into their Christmas cupboard and scoffing food which is supposed to be saved for the festive period.

The research also revealed that one in ten blame the kids for the missing food in the run up to the big day.

Jessica Bates, Christmas confectionary buyer at Asda, says: “Our customers are certainly price savvy when it comes to spreading the cost of their festive shopping. We’ve sold almost three million tins of chocolates this week, although I’m sure quite a few of those won’t make it unopened until the big day.

“Luckily, we always have low prices on a whole range of Christmas Cupboard essentials, so it won’t cost the earth to replace an item here and there if they go missing.”

Laura’s Baby Diary : Week 24 – More Than Halfway Now!

So, I’ve now passed the halfway point now and my bump is already massive! It seems to have grown from a cute mound to this boulder overnight and I can feel the little mite wiggling around all the time!

My husband and I are currently in the process of choosing baby names and if you’re anything think me – pretty indecisive – you will agree that this part is pretty difficult… choosing something that will stick with your child for the rest of their life! We just cant seem to come to any sort of an agreement and every time we get anywhere near, the interference of both of our families throws everything into turmoil again! We’ve decided now that whatever we finally agree on, we are going to keep it to ourselves, it will save a lot of problems.

I am also finding myself a lot more tired than usual and honestly, I am ready to hit my pillows at 8pm every night now! I’ve also noticed that bending down to pick things up and putting my shoes on is becoming increasingly difficult and leaving me rather squashed and off balance. Now only that, but if you are anything like me, I am a little bit OCD with cleaning, but I am learning now that with a belly the side of Mount Everest and a active three year old, the house will never be perfect, so it’s time to rest up a little.

I mentioned last week that I had quite a bad birth experience with my daughter and had discussed with my midwife the possibility of a c-section with this baby, mainly because of some of the problems I encountered after my first. Well, update: I went to see the consultant this week and they recommended a c-section.

To be totally honest, I would have preferred a natural birth because everything is a lot quicker to heal and you get to go home a little bit quicker, but the advice was not to put myself in the same situation as before as they couldn’t guarantee the healing process to be quite as successful so I am very relieved and happy that I can stop worrying about things and look forward to seeing our new addition.

Laura xxx

Laura’s Baby Diary : Week 23 – Feeling Tired & Grumpy

Another week down and being pregnant is starting to lose its excitement; I’m finding myself getting up a few times every night thanks to the dancing on my bladder, and as a result I am feeling rather tired this week!

On a positive note we have started work on the nursery; together we assembled the cot and crib and started to buy bedding, it is all starting to seem very real now! Our little girl is very excited and loves to play with all the new things we have bought, probably because she gets a small treat when we go shopping for baby, but it’s nice to keep her involved and share the experience with her.

One lovely thing is that the baby has started performing acrobats and my husband and little girl are able to put their hand on my tummy and feel for themselves, it is such a lovely feeling, especially when it is something that you can share with your loved ones. However my ‘innie’ belly button has become an ‘outie’ which is quite odd!

Speaking of odd, does anyone else seem to find themselves getting over-emotional during pregnancy? Yeah so am I!!! Anything seems to be setting me off into floods
of tears lately, even the smallest of things have the habit of opening the tear ducts!

I suppose what we have to accept is that during this time of a woman’s life, your body is going through all sorts of changes, and it is much better to embrace them
and enjoy it all, you will feel much better for it.

Laura xx