While women shop more frequently, men invest more money to look good, according to a survey on spending habits.
The YouGovSiraj survey, conducted for Al Aan TV's Nabd Al Arab show, found that 55 per cent of women and 40 per cent of men shopped for clothes monthly, while 68 per cent of the population shopped at least once every other month.
While almost 50 per cent of respondents bought shoes every two to six months, men spent more, and said their shoes cost at least around Dh230. Women cited the minimum cost of their footwear at about Dh160.
"We're used to saying that women are shopaholics, but men are as well," said Maysoon Baraky, the presenter of Nabd Al Arab. "They shop on the internet, and they are willing to pay more money for one-time shopping." Nabd al Arab will feature on the Studio Al Aan programme at 8pm tomorrow.
The study found that Dubai residents spent the most on clothes and accessories. For handbags, Dubai's women were willing to spend around Dh1,280, in comparison to about Dh785 in Abu Dhabi and Dh1,015 in Sharjah, In other emirates, women would spend at most about Dh420 on purses.
Spending is unlikely to slow any time soon. Projections showed that people expected to spend about Dh1,120 on clothes in the next three months, about twice as much as they would usually spend. Special events, such as the Dubai Shopping Festival, may account for the increased interest in spending.
"Discounts, special offers and promotions seem to be driving people to spend more, especially around this time of the year, because of the festivities and adding winter collection items to their wardrobes," said Lama Farhat, a senior research executive at YouGovSiraj.
Despite opportunities to splurge, 46 per cent of respondents said they shopped only when they needed something, while an additional 30 per cent said they purchased whenever they saw something they liked.
