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Britt Beemer America's Research Group articles most recent first Furniture Buying Index Falls in May Consumers Shift Spending To What They Need, Not What They Want Furniture Buying Index Drops Two More Points; Wal Mart Expands Home Furnishings In Midst of Sluggish Furniture Sales Beemer - Many Retailers In Free Fall After Disappointing December August Retail Sales Surge; Home Furnishings, Accessories Lag behind Expert Predicts Back-to-School Spending to Grow Meagerly in 2007 Retail Shopping Takes A Holiday Early Indications Are For A Frugal First Quarter Independent Retailers Outperformed Chain Stores In December Britt Beemer Lowers Forecast of Christmas Retail Sales to 2.7% Rise Over Last Year; Lack of “Must Have” Item to Blame Want To Drive Shoppers Away? Decorate Stores Less and Don’t Say “Merry Christmas” 2006 Q4 Shoppers Study Revealing; Cyber Monday a Hoax, Biggest Retail Push Will Be After December 15th 10 Trends For Retail Christmas 2006 Survey; Parents Cite High Gas Prices As Primary Reason For Limiting Back To School Spending Families Reduce Summer Spending As Gas Prices Rise Or Was It? New Survey Casts Doubt On Rosie Black Friday Survey; Bargain Hunters Drive June Results Top 10 Retail Stores For April; Discounts Drive Traffic Survey Says Americans Extremely Optimist About The Future 37% Of Shoppers Noticed Less Christmas Decorations In Stores; Spent Less As A Result America’s Research Group; Shopping Levels Increasing But Still Expected To Be Lackluster 3.2% Over 2003 Lack Of Hot New Product Weighing Heavily On Holiday Shopping Survey Of Thanksgiving Weekend Shoppers; "We're Not Impressed"; 45% Say Discounts Not Enough Britt Beemer’s Christmas 2004 Sales Forecast; 19% Will Spend More Since Bush Was Reelected Seven Things Your Store’s Appearance Tells Your Customers Britt Beemer Cites Convenience As Key To Drawing Male Shoppers Beemer Lowers Christmas Sales Projection to 4.2% Increase This Year Compared To His Earlier 4.8% Sales Increase survey 31.0% of Americans Who Planned to Shop Thanksgiving Weekend Did Not Get Around To It Study Shows 11% Increase In Consumer Spending For Appliance, Electronics, Computers Britt Beemer Predicts 4.8% Increase In Holiday Spending survey Furniture Leads All Categories For Shopping Levels Over Labor Day Weekend survey Consumers Plan to Spend 10% More on Back to School Furniture Buying Index Up One Point Buying furniture is on consumers’ minds, but not a top priority Shopping Is Not a Big Priority for Many Americans The Incredible Shrinking Customer Base How Loyal is Your Customer? The Loyalty American Consumers Have Towards Brand Products

by Susan Strother Clarke

"Men, you see, have never been the dominant sex when it comes to the exchange of money for goods -- be it at malls, strip centers or groceries. Much as it sounds like a stereotype, it is actually true"

It's a weekday afternoon at Winter Park Village, and there's no way to explain what I'm doing except to just spit it out.

I'm looking for men.

I'm strolling past the Hallmark store and Brio Tuscan Grille with retail consultant Britt Beemer, (bio) and he's explaining recent research that flies in the face of every bit of data he's collected during the past 20 years.

At Winter Park Village, Beemer tells me, male shoppers outnumber women by a full 10 percentage points. And the same thing is happening across the country at similar shopping areas that Beemer has studied.

"I have never seen this before," he says. "I was ecstatic when I found it."

Now, to mere mortals, this trend may not sound like stunning stuff. But to people like Beemer who make their living studying consumer behavior -- specifically, shopping behavior -- this is akin to finding another planet.

Men, you see, have never been the dominant sex when it comes to the exchange of money for goods -- be it at malls, strip centers or groceries. Much as it sounds like a stereotype, it is actually true: Women do most of the shopping and they, rather than their XY counterparts, keep the nation's retail engine humming.

"I would normally find women 10 or 20 [points] above the men," Beemer tells me. "I knew this research was big."

But there's a small problem: As Beemer and I meander, I see little evidence to support his theory. The few people at Winter Park Village seem to be women -- girlfriends at the movies, a solo shopper at Ann Taylor Loft, and what looks like a mom and daughter eating at the health-food store.

I don't even see men outside the Apollo Hair Loss Clinic.

But Beemer is insistent, so I keep listening. He tells me that the secret of Winter Park Village -- indeed, of all town centers -- is convenience. That's part of what's drawing the men.

These town centers tend to be small, with wide sidewalks and easy parking near stores. There's none of that exhausted, death-march feeling you get at a mall trying to reach the one store you need.

Then there's the mix. Town centers have movie theaters and restaurants, thus providing entertainment and sustenance -- the two things that can get men to shop when all else fails.

Beemer appears to be the first to quantify this male-female research -- and the implications could be huge. In recent years, shopping by both sexes has decreased, so finding any place where the numbers are strong is promising for the retail industry.

Knowing that men favor one type of retail development makes Beemer think of stores that should move there -- such as electronics boutiques or a high-end hardware store.

Later, after Beemer and I separate, I hang out at the Village awhile longer -- and then it happens, just like he said it would.

I see men. Everywhere.

They're dining al fresco at Brio. They're walking with their wives into the Borders bookstore. One even got a pedicure at the Signature Strawberry salon.

Beemer was right after all -- and when I call him later to tell him, he chuckles.

"It's not Einstein's E=mc2," he tells me, "but it really is a shift in consumer behavior."