Retail therapy? No thanks! Third of women HATE shopping because of rude staff, queues and difficulty finding what they want

You must have heard of retail therapy. But a poll released today suggests that for one in three women, it doesn't exist. A third of women hate clothes shopping, the survey found, because they find sales staff patronising and struggle to find the items that they're looking for. Millions of women are frustrated by long queues for the changing rooms, ill-fitting garments and aching limbs, the researchers report. And nearly half of the 2,000 women surveyed say they feel ‘intimidated’ by store staff who they find snooty. The study, by online clothes retailer Marisota.co.uk, debunks the myth that women are at their happiest trawling stores spending money. Coleen Nolan, brand ambassador for Marisota said: 'Retail therapy is a common phrase associated with women and shopping but for some females clothes shopping can be far from a therapeutic experience. 'If you aren’t a standard size, clothes shopping is not always easy. 'Even women with a perfect figure will have been in the situation where everything they try on looks awful and despite searching high and low and trailing the high street for hours, they return home empty handed. 'No female should ever be reduced to tears when shopping for clothes, it should be a pleasurable experience but shopping on the high street is a time consuming task.' The alternative of online shopping 'can take away many of the intimidating situations and will minimise stress. The report, carried out among 2,000 women, also found 44 per cent feel they have been ‘looked down upon’ in high-end shops while 38 per cent said they felt daunted because ‘nothing ever looks nice on them’. One in ten said they feel embarrassed asking for their size and 37 per cent said they feel uncomfortable getting undressed in changing rooms. The study found 15 per cent of women have even cried on a shopping trip with the biggest reason being listed as looking to fat, followed by not being able to find anything. But it’s a no win situation as ten per cent have shed a tear for being too skinny. One in two said they have never had the ‘buzz’ women talk about when bagging a bargain and one third said they don’t find the shopping process therapeutic. The main reason women get stressed out in shops was not being able to find anything, with a hatred for trying clothes on in changing rooms coming a close second. A third said it was because they hated queuing and 34 per cent said they were ‘a funny shape’ which made shopping hard. A wishful thinking 42 per cent of the women studied said shopping would be much easier if they looked different. Eight out of ten said they would enjoy the experience of shopping more if they were thinner. And half said having a bigger bank balance would improve things. The study also found 44 per cent dread the prospect of going shopping for a new outfit for a special event, with weddings being voted as the worst. A third of women now favour online shopping as it saves so much time. Coleen Nolan added: 'Many issues that women have with shopping whether it’s patronising sales staff or the physical exertions can be eliminated with internet shopping. 'Modern women work long hours and having to search in numerous different shops is a lengthy process.'