Tuesday, August 7, 20078 METRO

Excuse: Punters need little reason to dabble in a bit of pleasure shopping

IN FRANCE, window shopping iscalled Lèche-vitrine, whichliterally translates as ‘window

licking’. In Dublin however, theydon’t just lick, they devour.

It seems Urbanites – youngprofessionals working in the city –will give absolutely any excuse to geta bit of retail therapy in.

Metro asked its UrbanLife Panel of1,500 what were the top reasons forshopping for pleasure.

And, as expected, the vast majoritynamed ‘just been paid’ as the maindriving force.

While payday was the top excusefor 52 per cent, ‘if the sales are on’came a close second with 47 per cent.

‘Because it’s been too long sincethe last time,’ ‘just bored’ and ‘goodweather’ also proved to be verypopular, if a little unlikely, excuses.

Some 26 per cent said they wouldgo shopping if they had a very badday or week at work, while 11 percent would do the same if they had avery good day or week at work.

More than 30 per cent of Urbanitespleasure-shop about once a month,while eight per cent do it at least onea week. More than half admitted it

sometimes made them feel guilty, andsix per cent said it always made themfeet guilty – 39 per cent said theyharboured no guilt at all for blowingcash to make themselves feel good.

When it comes to attitudes towardsclothes shopping, one man’s pleasureis another man’s poison.

The UrbanLife panel was evenlydivided. One half said: ‘My clothesshopping is necessity driven, ie toreplace something that is wearing out,’and ‘I only shop under duress – if I amdragged out by my partner.’ The otherhalf said: ‘I like to make regularfashion shopping trips,’ and ‘I am ashopaholic – always looking, trying onand buying clothes.’

The average three month spend onclothing and accessories is ¨256. Themajority will spend between ¨200and ¨499, and 15 per cent will fritteraway ¨500 or more.

When we asked Urbanites to letloose in our Rant section, one said:‘The level of consumerism andmaterialism is astounding. Peopleshop as if it’s going out of fashion.’

Don’t forget, you can still getinvolved in our UrbanLife panel.Metro is giving you a voice – use it.

Pleasure andpain – that’sretail therapy

Audi’s toy car with a veryreal price tag (110,000)AUDI has unveiled the world’s mostexpensive toy car – a ££10,000pedal–powered replica. The ‘AutoUnion Type C’ pedal car is made with900 individual parts, an aluminiumbody and hand-crafted leather trim.Designed for children up to 4ft 5in(1.35 metres) tall, it boasts seven hubgears and hydraulic dual-disc brakes.Just 999 will be built at Audi’s HQ inIngolstadt, Germany. The model payshomage to the iconic 1930’s AutoUnion Silver Arrows Grand Prix cars. Iconic: Model based on 1930 classic

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