Fashion-conscious male shoppers emerge, wallets in hand, as stores step up displays
By Linda Tucci, Boston Globe Correspondent April 10, 2005
Think shopping, and most people think of women at the mall. But on a recent Wednesday afternoon at Boston's Copley Place, it was 20-year-old Mert Sadi who was eyeing a pair of men's gray bootcut jeans at A/X Armani Exchange.
''I usually come by myself, maybe a couple times a month," he said. ''It's fun." Any other reason he shops? ''To look better."
Men may be from Mars, but shopping at the mall, some data suggest, is an activity they increasingly have in common with the gender from Venus. Sadi could be the poster child for what some industry groups say is the new breed of male shopper -- appearance-conscious and willing to pay to look good.
Research on male shopping patterns from the International Council of Shopping Centers found that in 2003, the latest data available, men who shop at malls actually visit slightly more often than women, 9.7 times over a three-month period compared to 9.3. While women still account for the majority of mall shoppers, the balance shifted between 2000 and 2003, with the male contingent increasing to 39 percent from 37 percent.
Men's appetite for shopping is also outpacing women's, the same study found. The money spent by men per mall visit rose 17 percent in 2003 to $78.50 from $67.10 the prior year, compared to a 15 percent increase among women to $86.20 from $74.80. The time men spent at the mall increased 14 percent to an average 75 minutes per visit, compared with just a 7 percent increase for women.
The trend in male shopping over the past 20 years is even more striking. In 1985, 70 percent of men's products were bought by women, says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for New York market-research company NPD Group. In 2003 and 2004, 75 percent of men's products were bought by men. ''The number has completely reversed itself," said Cohen.
Part of the male upswing may be related to a strategy malls have adopted from department stores: Put the male-related goods near the entrance so that the shopping-phobic male barely has to stretch his legs.
''There is a good reason the Apple store is practically inside the door at the Cambridgeside Galleria," said Annette Born, a retail and leasing consultant in Cambridge, and, she adds, why malls lard their centers with restaurants where men can ''be parked," by their female companions.
''Men traditionally are not shoppers. Prudential Center is a good example of restaurants scattered around to help move people through the mall," she said.
At Cambridgeside Galleria, the tenant roster hews closely to sales, says mall vice president Issie Shait.
''If a certain category is doing 20 percent of sales, we obviously try to keep the percentage of square footage in line with that," he said.
Stores geared toward men lag those aimed at women at Cambridgeside, but not by much, 48 percent to 52 percent, a split that Shait attributes to the mall's urban location and proximity to college-age male consumers.
At Copley Place, owner Simon Property Group jumped on the trend, adding a Sony store to the mix in 2004. Copley will also soon add a Barneys New York, which began as a men's store and is still regarded by some as the finest men's specialty clothier in the country.
''We feel that the male consumer is not being as served as female consumers," said Cynthia Kernan, who oversees leasing for Simon's New England malls. ''We are working toward adding more stores that men would appreciate."
In addition to men's-only stores such as Hugo Boss, Benetton for Men, Vilebrequin, and Banana Republic Men, the Copley lineup boasts luxury retailers that do a strong men's business, among them Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, and Bally.
The emphasis makes sense for Copley. ''There are very big companies in and around Copley that are very male-based," says retail consultant James Chung of Reach Advisors in Belmont. ''The workplace is the destination and the mall just happens to be where they can get some shopping done."
The sector of the male population that holds the most promise for apparel retailers is men between ages 35 and 44. Clothing sales to men in that demographic were up 12 percent in 2004 over the prior year, nearly double the percentage increase for women of the same age, who spent just 7 percent more in 2004, NPD found.
Fast behind the older gents are the 18-to-25-year-old males shopping for upscale threads. The trend held true for specialty retailer J. Crew, said Tracy Gardner, executive vice president of merchandising.
''What our men customer is really responding to is our quality and fine fabrication," said Gardner. ''Men are loving our Italian cashmeres, our Italian and English silk ties, our suits and blazer line."
The privately held J. Crew does not disclose men's sales, but company spokeswoman Margot Brunelle said it ''definitely saw an increase" in its men's business in 2004 over 2003 and expects the trend to continue in 2005.
Still, given that roughly half the population is male, shopping geared to men remains a huge challenge for retailers and the analysts who track trends. Indeed, how a man does his shopping depends on who you ask.
''What's interesting is that the studies out now are very contradictory in a way. One finds that men are shopping more and shopping more alone. Another says that men are not shopping more alone but shopping more with families," said Reach Advisors' Chung. ''There is enough contradictory information out there that some retailers are probably chasing different segments."
Sorting out men's mixed signals has been an uphill battle for Express, a division of Limited Brands, which launched its now-defunct men's Structure stores as the place for women to shop for men.
''Under the Structure name, the stores didn't do well and when they were converted to the Express name, they did better and are doing even better when they are converted to the dual gender stores," said Limited spokesman Anthony Hebron.
In a recent conference call outlining the disappointing year-end sales for Express, company executives noted that men's sales fared better than women's and that the company's dual gender stores continued to outperform its stand-alone single gender stores by roughly 30 percent.
''It's a combination of both men shopping more, women popping over to buy something for men, and men and women shopping together," Hebron said.
How far this male shopping trend will go is uncertain. Chung, for example, is less convinced that men have changed their stripes, arguing that if there is a fundamental shift for men it's that they've happily moved to the Internet.
''Men typically are very task-oriented shoppers, except in a handful of certain product categories, such as electronics and sporting goods, and then they can spend hours and not buy anything and be happy," said Chung. ''The reality is, we're still men."
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