Putting out magazines yesterday, and watching who goes where the last few weeks and months, I was thinking about how even at my store there is a great divide between genders. There are occasional exceptions (which I applaud, and I am one that shops in both). I wish that there was more magazines for mixed gender interests, like I posted in a prior topic (so I didnt have to buy multiple magazines as much). I do see some men and women going over to the other section. The men that go into the womens normally do it early in the morning or late when there are less people, and sort of run away or hide if they see me coming. I rarely see men shop in women's section with confidence. Of the women that go to the mens section, those that do dont run or hide. Occasionally will get one going through the register and they almost always tell me, for some reason, that they are getting it for their boyfriend. The guys that buy womens magazines almost never mention anything. Only rarely.
Of our adult magazines quantity, we only sell around 8 (that we sell out of, to both men and women) of Playgirl (magazine showing naked men). On a very sharp contrast we sell probably 150 to 200 with naked women in every month. [Shows the amount of how much the female naked body is desired over the male naked body]
Based on what I see Men like women, sports, cars, guns, exercise, computers/electronics, and hobbies (card collecting, model, trains, toy collecting, comics, boating, fishing/hunting, golf)
While women like gossip, fashion, cooking, home, hair, wedding (if not yet married), and crafts (sewing, quilting, scrapbooks, stamping, beading) , doll collecting
In my store the male and female magazines are at opposite sides of the store.
On the womens side we have our home, fashion, wedding, crafts, cooking, childcare, womens health, healthcare, hairstyles, children's stuff.
The male side has guns, cars, electronics, marijuana, swimsuit/women possing for men mags, science, computers, gaming, hunting/fishing, boating, golf, train/remote control hobby, sports, military history, sports card collection (beckets).
I would say the stuff in that dont fit into either are the running, biking, entertainment, politics, literature, art, music, pets, travel, tattoos, religion. These are the main areas where I see both mix.
This makes me really upset and mad
I see a sharp contrast in what I am allowed to show at my store. I can show any women in swimsuits and showing their body on the front row in the women's section (health, fitness, fashion, and gossip), but I am not allowed to show it in the men's section (even though they are the top selling magazines in the store). Past complaints from women, have lead to us having to put those magazines in the second and third rows (evidently some women dont want men looking at them). I have never had a complaint about the swimsuit scantly clad women in the women's section in contrast, or any complaint about the scantly clad men in either section. I could take the same magazine (lets say TV guide just to be nuetral) and place it in the front row of the women's section (of a women in a bikini, but cant put it in the front row of the men's section. On the womens side there are no restrictions. For a little while I did put them on the front, and we sold out almost every month, of all the magazines. Unfortunately since the complaint men's magazines have gone down greatly, and less men go to the section which now only shows men on the front row. But men seem to not complain when we have to treat them with this contridiction, and limit what they have, treating them with less respect in my opinion, of their tastes, even though they are the top ones being bought in the store. Men's magazines are more expensive then women's (women pay 2.99 or 3.99, 4.99 tops) magazines (about twice as expensive), even though we sell more men's magazines then women's (probably twice as much also) (men pay 6.99, 7.99, up to 12.99).
I cant show the gay or lesbian magazines on the front of the rows.
The top selling women's magazines are #1 Gossip magazines (US weekly and People being number one), In Touch, Star, OK . Paula Deans's cooking magazine and the regional cooking/house magazines are top of the regional ones that women buy which are basically region cooking/travel/home/literature/food/health magazines like others have around the country: mississipi, southern lady, southern accents, southern living, taste of the south.
Top selling women's fashion are Cosmopolitan probably number one, Instyle, Elle Vogue, Allure, somtimes Glamour, Lucky, (for teen Seventeen, Teen People, Teen Vogue).
Top selling women's health are Self, Shape, and Weight Watchers
My top 20 magazines are almost all men's magazines. Top selling men's in our store is Playboy, Penthouse (always sells out), various swimsuits/women possing (FHM, Stuff, Maxim, American Curves, Black Men's, Hooters, King) , Men's journal, Men's Health, Muscle and Fitness, Soldier of Fortune, Shotgun News, Field and Stream, Popular science, Popular Mechanics, A few different car magazines (consumer car price guides, car trader magazines, hot rod mags, motorcycle, muscle cars), A few different computer and video game magazines (xbox, PS, PC), And whatever sport is popular at the moment (football and basketball right now) (sometimes golf and tennis sell good). Fashion with men is very low mainly GQ or is mixed in with the swimsuit/naked magazines. Wrestling, martial arts , and grappling/ultimate fighting is popular atm.
Anyway, this is just one observation from someone that gets a chance to watch people browsing their interests.
Ken/Kendra
