Mall madness: How do girls' and guys' top five stores compare?

Hollister was the favorite store among the girls polled. The guys ranked Champs at the top of their list.

By ScottiAnn Hager
John Adams Middle School

When you go to the mall, where's your first stop? Is it for some new garb at American Eagle or for some good grub at Chick-Fil-A? These answers will vary, but one thing does play a big role in your response: your gender.

The eighth grade class at John Adams Middle School recently participated in a short survey to determine the top five stores at the Charleston Town Center, as decided by gender. The top five stores as well as runners-up are listed, with stores receiving less than 4 percent unlisted.

Let's begin with the ladies, whose results came out exactly as expected. The top store was Hollister with 24 percent, followed by American Eagle Outfitters (14 percent), Abercrombie & Fitch (13 percent), Hot Topic (9 percent) and Charlotte Russe (8 percent). Runners-up Aeropostale, Claire's, Pacific Sunwear and Waldenbooks each received 4 percent of the votes.

Along with their rankings, many students also commented on their stores of choice. For instance, Olivia Oakes said of the top vote-getter, "Hollister has clothing that fits my style, and the atmosphere is cool and relaxing."

Moving on to the guys, my predictions were not so close to the actual outcome. Based on what I know about the guys at my school, I thought they would be all in the food category, but I was completely wrong.

The top store was Champs with 14 percent. Foot Locker came in second with 9 percent and GameStop third with 7 percent. Rounding out the top five were Hot Topic (6 percent) and Spencer Gifts (5 percent). The runner-up was Pacific Sunwear with 4 percent.

Like the girls, a lot of guys also gave their opinions on their favorite stores. "Champs has cool shoes and jerseys for reasonable prices," said Cameron Harmon about the guys' favorite store.

Whether or not these results are relevant at your school, I don't know, but one thing I do know is this: most teens think alike. So whenever you hit the mall for your next shopping spree, try stepping out of your own shoes and into one of these students'. You never know, you may even discover a new favorite store!