Anyone who has ever had a well-meaning partner shuffle along behind them through the underwear department, or play on their phone outside the changing room will understand - this is why we'd rather go alone...

The average man gets bored just 26 minutes into a day at the shops, a study has revealed. Researchers found that hot shops and partners who go into the same store several times over mean men are ready to head home less than half an hour after arriving at a shopping centre.

And more than a quarter even admitted to getting so fed-up following their wife or girlfriend around the shops, that they have left them to it and returned home alone.

But it’s not just men who suffer from shopping boredom, with the average woman reaching her limit after almost two hours – but usually because they haven’t found anything they like or what they were looking for.

Andy Oldham, Managing Director at cashback site Quidco, which commissioned the research, said:

”Shopping is generally thought to be a woman’s hobby and something men are just subjected to.

”These results certainly seem to back that up, with men getting fed-up of the spending spree pretty much as soon as they get there.

”If men buy whatever they were looking for in one of the first shops they went into, it’s going to get pretty tiresome going from shop-to-shop with their other half – especially if they are having to follow them into the same store several times.

”But it seems women also have their limit when they are in a busy shopping centre, just for completely different reasons – more down to being frustrated at not being able to find what they were looking for or leaving empty-handed.

The study of 2,000 adults found that eight in ten guys find clothes shopping with their partner boring, with 45% admitting they avoid shopping with their other-half at all costs.

Another one in four only go with their partner if they need to get something for themselves.

A wife or girlfriend who takes too long to make a decision, or find what they want, is most likely to end up with a fed-up other half, while being dragged from shop-to-shop when they got what they wanted in the first one also winds-up a shopping-averse man.

Being hungry or thirsty, busy stores and missing a television show or sports game also see men reaching boiling point when shopping.

But instead of just staying with their partner, 48% of guys who have lost interest wander off to a different area, while a third disappear to a different store altogether.

Another one in three sit outside the shop waiting for them, while one in five admitted to admiring other women to pass the time.

Almost half have also ended up rowing with their wife or girlfriend because of their bad mood in the shopping centre.

Researchers also found that 58% of men would be more likely to at least act like they are enjoying a shopping trip if they are promised a treat at the end of it.

And a meal, a drink in a pub or promises that they won’t have to come along on the next shopping trip are the things most likely to convince a man to go around the shops in silence.

Shopping is not all plain sailing for the girls either, with three quarters admitting to a sense of shopping stress in less than two hours of starting.

Not being able to find anything they like is the most common reason for losing interest, followed by not being able to find what they were looking for and shops which are too busy.

Seven in ten also said they find shopping with their partner ‘frustrating’ because they get bored too quickly, moan about going into another shop and make it obvious they would rather be somewhere else.

Top ten contributing factors to men’s shopping boredom

1.    If my partner is taking ages to make a decision or find what they want
2.    When I’ve bought what I needed in the first shop and they are still looking
3.    When I’m hungry/thirsty
4.    When my partner drags me into the same shop several times
5.    It’s too busy in the store/shopping centre
6.    When they keep asking for my opinion on things which look identical to me
7.    When it’s hot in the shops/shopping centre
8.    When the weather is nice and I’m stuck in shops
9.    When I’m missing something on TV/ a sports match
10.    When the weather is cold/wet

Top five things men have done while out shopping with a partner

1.    Wandered off to a different part of the shop
2.    Wandered off to a different shop
3.    Sat outside the shop
4.    Admired attractive strangers
5.    Gone to get food/drink