"They insist on giving us their business cards or at least their mobile phone numbers, but when we decline they insert them in our shopping bags without us noticing," one woman shopper told Arab News.

"This behavior can cause us a lot of trouble with our husbands and children," she added.

Sarah Al-Harbi, a schoolteacher, said she was astonished by the bad manners of some sellers who would utter obscenities in front of women, even those who were elderly.

She questioned whether victims should tell their husbands or brothers or just keep quiet.

She called on the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) and the police to maintain a presence around these shops to protect women against harassment.

Sarah said she often goes to the market on occasions such as Eid or weddings to buy perfume and incense, in addition to clothes for her and her daughters.

"A salesman wrote his mobile number on a piece of paper and put it in my shopping bag. I did not notice that until I reached home and emptied my bag. I was embarrassed as one of my family members could have found it but luckily no one noticed anything," she said.

Asma Al-Zahrani said she was with her mother at a perfume shop when the salesman tried to grab her hand.

"I asked my mother if we could leave the shop quickly and gave her the reason that I was not feeling well," she said.

Asma also called for the presence of Haia members and police officers near these shops, adding that she had noticed lately that women had started going to the markets in the company of their husbands, fathers or brothers.

"This is a new phenomenon caused by the continued harassment of women in the markets," she said.

Salimah Al-Mahmoudi recalled an incident when she was paying for her shopping and the cashier offered to give her his card, which did not have the name of the shop on it.

"I refused politely but when I reached home my four-year old son found the card in the shopping bag and gave it to me. I am thankful to God that my husband did not notice otherwise I would be in deep trouble," she said.

Many husbands said they would not prefer to go with their wives to the markets because they found shopping very boring.

Ibrahim Al-Zahrani said he prefers to wait for his wife in the car until she finishes her shopping or go back home and wait for her phone call.

"I cannot stand shopping and moving from one shop to another. I find this to be very boring," he said.

Faisal Al-Otaibi on the other hand said he was keen to shop with his wife to protect her from any trouble in the market.

"If I am busy, I will ask her to go with her family. I cannot let her go out alone," he said.

However, a number of salesmen were baffled by the shoppers’ accusations, calling them false.

"The business cards belong to the shops. We give them to customers as part of our marketing efforts and not for any other purpose," said Mishari Al-Mousli, a salesman.

Nasser Al-Minhali said he has been working for a home utensils shop for 12 years and was never accused of harassing any woman shopper.

"Some shops and malls distribute their cards and booklets to promote their business," he said.

He said he and his fellow employees had nothing to fear from accusations of harassment.

"We respect ourselves and our customers and could never do anything that may irk them," he said. Chairman of Yanbu’s Haia office Sheikh Faisal Al-Jabri said such incidents described by the shoppers were too rare for them to be labeled a trend.  Psychologists believe that women find special pleasure in shopping, which relieves them of the pressures of daily life, compared to men who feel exhausted and bored in the markets. They said men get bored after 72 minutes in the market while women only feel this way, if at all, after 100 minutes.