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The Paco Underhill Book Why We Buy The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill.
Reviews of The Paco Underhill Book Why We Buy The Science of
Shopping by Paco Underhill.
Amazon.com
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
From Booklist , May 1, 1999
It is fascinating, this business of how and why people shop. Self-styled
urban geographer and retail anthropologist Underhill has carved a
niche--and a substantially good living--with observations ranging from
the
purchasing of cosmetics to the positioning of shopping carts and baskets.
Here, he explains how he began his retail meanderings, inspired by
teacher William H. Whyte (The Organization Man), and what exactly
constitutes the shopping science. Each chapter delves into a particular
aspect of a store environment and its interface with customers: the
importance of signage and why less is more, how men shop (they ignore
price tags, for one), the need to cater to boomers, and clues about
waiting time. Throughout, insights are peppered with one or several
examples; a section on Internet shopping, for instance, uses statistics
and
case histories to explain why cyber retailing will never command the top
percentage of retail sales. Intriguing for both lovers and haters of the
game of visual stimulation. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright© 1999, American Library Association. All rights reserved
From Kirkus Reviews , April 12, 1999
Shopping is one of the defining qualities of modern civilization, but this
author convincingly argues that consumers may have a greater impact on
the act of shopping than shopping has on them. Just as social scientists
study people in natural conditions, Underhill studies consumers in retail
environments. Hes no academic, however, but a ``real-world'' consultant
with such clients as McDonald's, General Mills, and the US Postal
Service. Although Underhills work involves a certain amount of intuition
and creative thinking, its primarily based on hard evidence: the
measurements accumulated by teams of trackers working on the floors
and behind the scenes of retail establishments. Details gathered from
observation of consumers pinpoint problems with products, shelving,
signage, register lines, and other factors. Such monitoring prompted one
of the author's key insightsthat any space in which people are likely to
be
jostled from behind can lead to shopper discomfort (dubbed ``butt
sensitivity''). The solution: wider aisles. Underhill explores both similarities
and differentiating features in the shopping experiences of varied groups,
including the distinctive ways in which men and women browse and make
purchasing decisions. His dissection of the retail industry finds much
to
criticize, but the book also dignifies shopping as a central focus of human
activity. The author's company, whose work is cited throughout, has
earned its way by spotting flaws and advising retail owners on how to fix
them, not merely to boost profits, but because the profits come from
improving the quality of the shopping experience for customers. Underhill
also analyzes the emerging arena of online shopping, offering tips for
improved performance. Sales here will accelerate, the author believes,
but they dont fundamentally threaten the future of old-fashioned human
sales interactions. A strong portrait of consumers as the most efficient
arbiters of what to sell and how to sell it. (Author tour) -- Copyright
©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The Paco Underhill Book Why We Buy The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill.
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