Study: Malaysian women shop to relieve stress

Eddy said: A new paradox paradigm, shopping ignites stress or stress causes shopping madness. Let see what'll happen when they receive their card statement. LOL


By : Irdiani Mohd Salleh

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian women believe in "retail therapy", with most of them spending an average of RM180 each on shopping in a month.

Almost three-quarters of women surveyed recently said shopping was therapeutic and a stress-reliever.

These were the findings of a survey conducted by global market research company Synovate on more than 1,000 Malaysian women recently.

The respondents, aged between 15 and 64, were from all income levels. They were asked on their retail preferences and spending habits for clothing, accessories, skin care products and cosmetics as well as electronic gadgets.

Synovate Malaysia managing director Steve Murphy said 74 per cent admitted that shopping was therapeutic and helped to relieve stress.

However, most are not extravagant as they only spent 17 per cent of their monthly income on shopping.

"We found that Malaysian women hold back most of their income for savings, which is timely in the current economic situation."

Financial independence of Malaysian women was also reflected in the survey results.

Close to half of the respondents said they could afford to pay for what they wanted without having to ask for money from their partners or husbands.

"We also made comparisons across the region and found that women in Hong Kong (87 per cent) were the most financially independent, followed by China (75 per cent) and Singapore (74 per cent)."

The majority of Malaysian women also felt that they were on equal terms with their partners or husbands.

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) acknowledged that they had an equal say in the purchase of big-ticket items such as property and cars.

Women in Hong Kong (87 per cent) and China (76 per cent), however, were found to have a bigger say.

The survey also revealed that Malaysian women did not compromise on quality when buying goods and services.

A total of 640 women agreed that they would pay extra for quality.

"The quality factor was confirmed again as we asked each respondent what would make them loyal to a retailer apart from lower prices."

The survey also showed that most Malaysian women cared for the environment and 490 of the respondents were willing to pay more to buy environmental-friendly products.

Eddy said: Thinking of saving the planet by blindly buying environmental-friendly goods? Think thrice. Some so called friendly products don't necessarily being produced in environmental-friendly method.