to hate shopping?

[Ellybellyboo]

Friends seem to think I'm some sort of weird freak

We're visiting some friends this weekend - we've known them years and our kids are really good buddies. We moved away several years ago.

Yesterday we went shopping at Westfield. OMG! I hated every minute of it.

Our DHs and a couple of other male friends went out on a jolly while the women and kids went shopping - would have rather been go-karting with the men to be honest, but we were their guests so went with the flow

DD1 (15) was initially quite enthusiastic about the idea (we live in the arse end of nowhere so was excited about the bright lights of Primark) DD2 (11) not so keen, but looking forward to spending time with her friends.

About an hour in and we're all bored and fed up with the whole thing. It was packed so constantly being bumped into, hot and uncomfortable and I end up with a banging headache.

We spent what felt like hours in Primark, DD1 doesn't really find anything she likes but buys a couple of tops as her friends bought them - it was kind of how cute, we'll all have the same top (I doubt she'll ever wear them, but it was her money).

Anyway, the torture finally ends.

I suppose we're just not used to it. We have a small town, with most things we need, but not the most exciting place to go shopping and we don't have any massive shopping centres nearby so we just don't go. That's what the internet is for!!

Plus, I just don't want to buy 'stuff'. We're not stingy or anything, we buy what we need, the kids have whatever they want within reason, but none of us want to buy stuff just for the sake of it.

DD1 didn't really find anything she liked and she was cool with that, but she came under a bit of pressure from her friends to just buy something - anything! DD2 bought some leggings and 2 t-shirts, I didn't buy anything. We spent about £50 between us, including lunch - last of the big spenders

We were all out for dinner last night and someone said to DH - "oh, you let Elly loose with your credit card, you're brave" (er, I have my own credit card, but anyway.....). DH said "oh, Elly hates shopping, it was fine"

General consensus seems to be that I'm a freak - a woman who hates shopping!!!!! . Everyone else seems to go shopping every weekend

When we get back to our friends last night we were discussing what to do today - friend suggested going to x town for lunch and a wander round the shops

NNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

[harderandharder2breathe]

I'm a woman who hates shopping too!

I hate the browsing endlessly

[nannynick]

YANBU - I hate it too. Far prefer a nice small town, or simply not going at all. I only shop when i NEED to shop.

What is wrong with a nice walk around the countryside, or a historic town or city. Take in the sights, avoid the shops, find a nice place for lunch off the beaten track.

Too many people these days don't seem to know the difference between a Need and a Want.

[SuperMoonIsKeepingMeUpToo]

If you're a freak, so am I. I bloody hate it too, luckily all my family are the same and we use the Internet for the vast majority of our shopping.

😲 at the 'your credit card' comment! What with that and the gender dichotomy of opinion of what constitutes a good day ( women = shopping, men = jolly) it sounds like your friends are stuck in a time warp!

[nannynick]

Come join the WEIRD PEOPLE

"What's in your wallet?" - Cash.

Nice to be a weird person and not rely on credit!

[Itisnoteasybeingdifferent]

Shopping is the worst every way to spend an hour yet alone a day...

Just getting to shops is a palava. Town centres charge you for parking and make it expensive and threaten you with fines... Or you have to drive to somewhere in the middle of nowhere and catch a bus for the last bit. The alternative is places like Lakeside and Westfield. Glorified cattle markets, again a long drive to get there.

And once inside all the various towns and malls have the same shops with the same things. If you want something different like sewing and fabrics, there are very few shops and little to choose from.

Not sure about go-karting as would prefer to be sailing. Alternatively give me a chandlery and I can spend hours sorting stuff for the boat and really enjoy it.

[Macauley]

I hate shopping. Only go if I have to, hate rummaging through rails of clothes and never try anything on. My aim is for it to be over as fast as possible.

[ZaraW]

I can do it for about an hour before I get bored. Cannot understand people who shopping is their hobby. A country walk and pub lunch is far more appealing.

[Didiusfalco]

Oh, me too! I find the idea that shopping is a leisure activity weird. So many things I'd rather be doing. Thank goodness for the internet.

[nokidshere]

I hate shopping too, I'm bored after the first shop! I shop online if I need anything.

[Coverup890]

Another freak here its so dull. I just go pick up what i need and leave. Sadly i still have no money but thats because i love motorbikes and also have 3dc. I cant understand the obsession with shopping at all would rather go for a walk.

[BzyB]

Hate shopping too. Unless it's for the kids! But I only shop out of necessity rather than as a leisure activity. I feel stressed just thinking about it.

[Ellybellyboo]

Oooh itsnoteasy, I think you might be me - I'd rather be sailing than go-karting, but we are miles away from the sea.

I like making things, rather than buying things. Show me a fabric shop and I'm like a pig in shit. Put DD1 in an art shop and she could bankrupt me, DD2 in a tack shop and the credit card begs for mercy.

Just buying 'stuff' in a shopping centre - we all hate every minute.

I suppose we're all a bit out of step now - we live near the sea, life is slow and laid back. None of us ever really dress up these days as we just don't often go places where dressing up is required and there's only so many jeans and hoodies you can wear

[MrsBobtonTrent]

You're not alone OP. Hate shopping, hate the crowds, hate being shunted about, hate trying to sift through the junk to find what I want. It's all full of stuff someone else wants me to buy, not what I would want. And if I don't need or want anything, why go there?!?

The plebs spend all week earning money and all weekend desperately trying to lose it BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

It's just not for me.

[Huldra]

If there is something that I need or want I am more than happy to go ON MY OWN. Shopping as a social activity bores me so much, standing around when someone else is faffing, not being able to look at something so you don't keep others waiting. I would be really pissed off if I was left to drag kids around whilst my husband had fun.

Luckily my friends are the same, when we meet up its to eat and drink. There's always an assumption from others that I'm meeting up to shop

[frazzled3ds]

YANBU! Another shopping hater here.... grocery shopping is bad enough, but has to be done, shopping as a leisure activity is something I really don't understand. I rarely have sufficient disposable cash to just 'shop' and when I do, I tend to end up not buying anything anyway as I a) can't stand traipsing round through hordes of people and b) can't find anything I like. I'm another who just doesn't buy or 'do' stuff - if I have a need for something I'll get it as quickly and hassle free as possible. I'd far rather enjoy a walk out in the countryside or an afternoon film, book, playing with the kids!

Programmes like that Shop Well for Less one where folks are spending days out in the shopping centre and parting with hundreds on stuff they hardly use or wear baffle me!

[ijustwannadance]

Being able to buy stuff online is the best thing about the internet.

I hate shopping and only venture into town when absolutely necessary, and even then it's like a military operation. I know exactly where i'm going and what i'm buying.

Liverpool city centre Primark on a saturday is hell on earth. How anyone can go in there for fun is beyond me.

[Sparklingbrook]

Malls give me an instant headache. I only venture out if I need something, I wouldn't go just to have a look round.

Five minutes in and I am boiling hot, fed up and want to go home. Especially if I have to carry loads of bags.

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

I enjoyed it as a teenager but grew out of it when I got a full time job. Now find it a chore, but quite happy to browse online, often filling a basket that I never quite check out.

[Hassled]

I've never really understood shopping as a leisure activity - like bowling or swimming. If I shop, I know what I'm looking for roughly (new jeans, smart work trousers, a couple of summery tops etc) and I'm in and out faster than a speeding bullet. I'll have identified maybe 3 or 4 shops to look in, and won't deviate. This might actually be why my clothes are so shite.

[Ellybellyboo]

Even my teen hated it. I thought she'd love it to be honest, she's still got some Christmas money left and we don't have anything like it nearby.

She just didn't really get it. Her friends were filling carrier bags but she just didn't find anything and in the end only bought a couple of things because she felt she should.

I just found it all a bit stressful and boring. When we go into town we usually go to buy something specific, just browsing for fun just seems too much like hard work

I did suggest going to a local national trust forest today and then lunch in a nearby pub but our friends looked at me like I was mad

[Sparklingbrook]

I quite like the sitting in a coffee place drinking a vanilla latte bit of shopping.

[HeadDreamer]

I hate shopping. It is not because I live in a small town. I grew up in Hong Kong so it's as busy as London and shopping is a past time for many! I like how you can see a lot of variety in a lot of shops. But it's awful in the weekends and I couldn't stand more than an hour even at quiet times. So you aren't unusual.

[Iamastonished]

"If there is something that I need or want I am more than happy to go ON MY OWN. Shopping as a social activity bores me so much, standing around when someone else is faffing, not being able to look at something so you don't keep others waiting"

That is how I like to shop. I only go shopping when I actually want to buy something. I don't buy clothes online because I want to know straight away if something fits. And I don't understand how anyone can buy shoes online as I have to try on eleventy million pairs of shoes before I find some that are comfortable. I'm sure my feet aren't that weird - standard size 6.

So, I don't hate shopping. I like nice clothes and I enjoy an hour's browse somewhere quiet when I want something, but the OP's Westfield trip sounds like a nightmare.

[TomaytoTomahto]

I like shopping, though not so much with other people.

[SharkBastard]

Hate shopping, and hate crowds so the only time I've been near Westfields was to park there for a gig...even walking through it to get to the venue saw me swigging my can of Stella (classy).

Stresses me right out