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Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Is there a method to our madness when it comes to shopping? Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "a Sherlock Holmes for retailers," author and research company CEO Paco Underhill answers with a definitive "yes" in this witty, eye-opening report on our ever-evolving consumer culture. Why We Buy is based on hard data gleaned from thousands of hours of field research -- in shopping malls, department stores, and supermarkets across America. With his team of sleuths tracking our every move, from sweater displays at the mall to the beverage cooler at the drugstore, Paco Underhill lays bare the struggle among merchants, marketers, and increasingly knowledgeable consumers for control.In his quest to discover what makes the contemporary consumer tick, Underhill explains the shopping phenomena that often go unnoticed by retailers and shoppers alike, including: - How a well-placed shopping basket can turn a small purchase into a significant sale
- What the "butt-brush factor" is and how it can make sales plummet
- How working women have altered the way supermarkets are designed
- How the "boomerang effect" makes product placement ever more challenging
- What kinds of signage and packaging turn browsers into buyers
For those in retailing and marketing, Why We Buy is a remarkably fresh guide, offering creative and insightful tips on how to adapt to the changing customer. For the general public, Why We Buy is a funny and sometimes disconcerting look at our favorite pastime.
In an effort to determine why people buy, Paco Underhill and his detailed-oriented band of retail researchers have camped out in stores over the course of 20 years, dedicating their lives to the "science of shopping." Armed with an array of video equipment, store maps, and customer-profile sheets, Underhill and his consulting firm, Envirosell, have observed over 900 aspects of interaction between shopper and store. They've discovered that men who take jeans into fitting rooms are more likely to buy than females (65 percent vs. 25 percent). They've learned how the "butt-brush factor" (bumped from behind, shoppers become irritated and move elsewhere) makes women avoid narrow aisles. They've quantified the importance of shopping baskets; contact between employees and shoppers; the "transition zone" (the area just inside the store's entrance); and "circulation patterns" (how shoppers move throughout a store). And they've explored the relationship between a customer's amenability and profitability, learning how good stores capitalize on a shopper's unspoken inclinations and desires. Underhill, whose clients include McDonald's, Starbucks, Estée Lauder, and Blockbuster, stocks Why We Buy with a wealth of retail insights, showing how men are beginning to shop like women, and how women have changed the way supermarkets are laid out. He also looks to the future, projecting massive retail opportunities with an aging baby-boom population and predicting how online retailing will affect shopping malls. This lighthearted look at shopping is highly recommended to anyone who buys or sells. --Rob McDonald
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| Excellent read for Retail or Marketing Professionals |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This is a witty, easy-to-read book full of insights into how shopper behave in stores. It'll get you thinking from the customer's point of view and give you a framework for innovating on the retail experience. A must read for retail and marketing professionals. I definitely recommend it.
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| VERY USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This books gives an insight on how people decide to buy, mostly intuitively. The stories that are the basis for the book are very entertaining making it very easy to read.
Actually this is my second copy of the book, as I loaned the first one and never got it back., For me it is a must in my library.
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| Complicated reading, words, words, words |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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Definitely not the author for me,(Sanguine temperment. If you enjoy science blended with retail knowledge then have at it.
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| Badly in need of a new edition |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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For newcomers to selling, this is probably helpful. But it is only quaint, not fascinating, due to its outdated information. And the section on internet selling is just plain embarrassing.
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| Must Read For Anyone Involved In The Process Of Retail |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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If he were to ask me tomorrow, I would marry Paco Underhill. I have read both his books, this one and Call of the Mall, and quite frankly I have fallen in love.
Fun and informative Why We Buy will put everything about the retail enviroment into perspective. Like the "Butt Brush Effect". It seems so obvious, who likes to touch or be touched by strangers? but you'll have never thought of it, I assure you. Or what about the strategic placement of mirrors? How many times have I had to hunt down a mirror in a store? How many times did I simply give up when the hunt became too time consuming?
This book has become one of the driving motivators to my switch to a Merchandising minor, and one day I hope to use some of his ideas in my own store.
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