Stores are finally recognizing what seems like a basic fact of retail: Men and women shop differently. 1 with increasing competition from online retailers, some bricks-and-mortar retailers are 2 a practice known as gender-based selling, where stores aim to 3 men and women to shop by focusing on their differences. Knowing that men hate to 4 , a store may group all its men's products in one location close to the entrance, and knowing women like 5 , it may train sales associates to offer product alternatives. While some retailers are 6 about a sales strategy that essentially says to treat men and women differently, others have embraced it as a progressive 7 to offer the best customer experience. "The traditional sales model, where you treat every single person as a(an) 8 consumer, doesn't make any sense,: says Barbara Kahn, director of Retailing Center, who published one of the first studies 9 gender differences in the shopping experience. The study found women are 10 affected by personal interactions with sales associates, 11 men are affected by pragmatic factors, like the 12 of products and parking spaces. "women are risk-averse( 不愿意冒险的 ), and will want to know more about the 13 and benefits of the product," says Delia Passi, CEO of Women Certified. Making the store experience more 14 -"touching a fabric and staging it with matching bags"-will 15 a woman to buy more. Men, on the other hand, just want to know 16 the product is and they "want their areas clearly defined," Ms. Passi says. To men, the worst 17 is to walk out of a store empty-handed, she says. Not all stores have embraced gender-based selling, 18 training costs and a high sales-associate 19 rate. In addition, some companies are hesitant to advertise a policy founded on treating men and women differently. Home Depot spokeswoman Jean Niemi says, the store "which is first and 20 a working warehouse", doesn't differentiate based on gender.