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Holiday Shoppers Who 'Stalk' for the Perfect Parking Spot

21 November 2000

Holiday Shoppers Who 'Stalk' for the Perfect Parking Spot; National Survey Reveals Twice as Many Women Stalk for Parking Spots than Men

    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Nov. 21 Do you ever have a feeling
leaving a store that you're being followed?  If you do, you may be right.
But, the stalker may more likely be a woman looking for your parking space.
With the holiday shopping season underway, millions of drivers are headed to
the mall and local stores.  According to a national survey of more than one
thousand people conducted by Response Insurance, a direct-to-the-consumer auto
insurance company focusing on responsible drivers, women are more than twice
as likely as men to stalk people to get their parking spot.
    On average, 12% of female drivers admit to trailing people in their cars
to find that choice spot near the mall or store entrance, but just 5% of men
do so.  Regionally, drivers in the south are most likely to stalk for parking
(12%) vs. the mid-west, which nationally ranked lowest (6%).  In addition,
drivers in metropolitan areas are more prone to stalk (10%) vs. those in
non-metro areas (7%), and the survey also indicated that single people were
somewhat more likely to stalk for parking than those with children
(12% vs. 9%).