Hunters and gatherers of the 21st century

After decades of shopper-watching, the Oily Rag Research Department has come up with a thesis of shopping personalities.
The first personality types are "shopaholics", those who suffer incessant retail cravings.
This is shopping with the primary purpose of improving the buyer's mood or disposition. It is often seen in people during periods of depression or transition. Though it is often a short-lived habit it can develop into shopaholism in chronic cases,
Our researchers have found that shopaholics are easily recognisable because they usually shop with a sense of overexuberance and justify their recidivist shopping experiences on the grounds that they are buying essential items.
The second personality types are the "hunters".
They are usually armed with a calculator and notepad and can be seen scouring the very highest and lowest shelves. They often work in pairs as this enables hunters to readily compare prices. The more technically proficient use text messaging to alert other hunters to their discoveries.
Then there are the "grazers". These people graze the aisles in a Daisy-the-cow manner and can be seen ruminating about items before putting them in the trolley.
Another form of grazer is the window shopper, who amble their way through retail precincts, occasionally pressing their nose against the display glass.
Grazers don't usually have a specific purchase in mind. They just want to be around retail excitement, eating icecream and french fries, and watching other people struggle under the weight of heavy shopping bags.
The fourth type of shopping personality is the "bargain bin buyer".
Typically they shop alone, their partners sitting patiently on a bench nearby or reading the newspaper in the car. The bargain-bin buyer is a fanatic for sales.
Then there is the "power shopper". They are purposeful, shop alone but not often, and know what they want and where to find it. No mucking around. In, buy, out. If you want it, buy it.
Last comes the "shopping grump". They hate shopping. When forced into dens of iniquitous spending they drag their feet grumbling that everything is too expensive, not needed, too big or too small.
When they do buy something it is small items like buying an icecream (one scoop).
Fortunately they are not seen all that often in shops because they are generally left at home in the garden or having a good laugh watching Grumpy Old Men on the telly.
Keep these shopping types in mind next time you go venturing out into the aisles. You will be amazed how many you see. We find it more entertaining and cheaper than going to the movies.
Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips on-line at www.oilyrag.co.nz.