Why men don't buy into the sale season Sale times like Christmas present a unique shopping experience for women. WHILE there's no doubt the solution was unfortunate and extreme, I can understand why the man in China threw himself out of a store window after being forced to shop with his girlfriend for more than five hours. According to witnesses, after the man's pleading to stop shopping fell on deaf ears, in desperation, he jumped seven storeys to his death. Apparently, his girlfriend wanted to try on just one more pair of shoes. Shopping, as far as women are concerned, is a nirvana-type experience where the saying "shop to you drop" rings true. Men, on the other hand, place shopping on the same level as visiting the dentist or giving up a night with the boys and being forced to take the wife or girlfriend to a chick flick. While fathers and sons share time, and bond going to the footy, on bike rides or building a new cubby house, for mothers, the peak experience is to take the daughter on their first retail outing together to buy a new party frock or designer outfit. Even after they have left home and started a life of their own, one of the greatest offences any daughter can commit is to say "No" to her mother after being offered the excitement and pleasure of a day's outing at the nearest shopping mall. When shopping, men are programmed differently from women. Men, generally speaking, know what they want, how much it should cost and like to be in and out as quickly as possible. Not so with women. For women, shopping represents a lengthy, complex ritual where a transaction can take hours and the rules of engagement are often beyond the understanding of males. After nearly 40 years of married life, I can speak from personal experience. When buying business shoes, I'll always remember making the mistake of choosing the first pair I saw. Unacceptable, according to my wife, who acts on the belief that to be a truly rewarding and satisfying experience, shopping must involve multiple alternatives and plenty of time comparing options. For men, the whole purpose of shopping is buy what you want and the idea that it might be rewarding or enjoyable for its own sake is foreign. Women, on the other hand, are happy to go into a store with no intention to buy but simply to try on whatever catches their attention as a form of retail therapy. Pity the male partner sitting patiently and dreading the moment when asked: "How do I look in this? Does it suit me? Say "Yes" too quickly and the wife or girlfriend knows that all you want to do is to go home and watch the cricket - say "No" and you will affront their female sensitivity by questioning their judgment. As many men know, it's also true that whatever answer you give will be the wrong one as women aren't really interested in what you think - they just want to make sure that you are involved, paying attention and sharing the experience. Unlike men who approach transactions in a direct and succinct manner - "Do you have what I want and how much will it cost?" - women treat sales assistants as trusting and intimate friends longing for conversation. Women also believe shop assistants when they say: "Oh yes, that really suits you," "It's heavily discounted and a bargain at that price" and "We've sold quite a few and there's only one or two left." The rule for men is that the longer you have your favourite T-shirt, jeans or casual shoes, the better it is - comfort and familiarity rule. Not so for women who work on the belief that anything more than a year old is obsolete and that whatever is new season must be better. Even with cupboards overflowing with dresses, evening wear, designer shoes and handbags, jewellery and assorted garments, many of which have only be worn once, women will keep spending and spending. Instead of costing money, based on the idea that if you spend X amount then you must have gone backward financially, when everything is discounted, women believe that the more they spend, the more they save. Even after spending hours and hours trudging from store to store and acting as the pack mule carrying the day's booty, for many men the reality is that finally getting home offers no relief. While men unpack what they buy, grab a cold beer and turn on the TV, women will only be happy after they have once again paraded what they have bought to reassure themselves that they have made the right choice. Kevin Donnelly is a Melbourne-based author and commentator who tries to avoid shopping as much as possible