Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping - Softcover

Underhill, Paco

Softcover

ISBN 10: 158799044X ISBN 13: 9781587990441

Publisher: Texere Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

Shopping: there's a lot more to it if you know how to look. We speed up when we walk past a bank (nothing to look at, of course), so if you don't want your customers to shoot straight past you, don't open your shop next to a bank. And once you've lured them in, whatever you do, don't put key items just inside the door. This is "decompression zone" where we take the five to 15 paces we need to adjust to the shop's lighting and slow down from normal walking pace to browsing. And don't ever put menswear at the back of the shop; male customers don't like having to walk through womenswear. And while we're in womenswear, don't place goods that require close scrutiny in narrow aisles. Your female customers will leave if they are brushed or knocked by passing shoppers. Understanding the science of shopping is fascinating, but it can be hugely profitable. By using state-of-the-art observational techniques and research methods grounded in anthropology and environmental psychology, Paco Underhill uncovers the secrets that have made him the retail industry's most sought-after adviser, with clients including McDonald's, Levi-Strauss, Coca-Cola and Sony. Why We Buy is essential reading for anyone involved in the business of consumer products and is a hugely entertaining read for all of us who have that one thing in common. We shop.

About this title

Review:

In an effort to determine why people buy, Paco Underhill and his detailed- orientated band of retail researchers have camped out in stores for over 20 years, dedicating their efforts 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 shopper/store interaction. They've discovered that men who take jeans into the fitting room are more likely to buy then females (65 percent to 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, employees/shopper contact, 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 capitalise on a shopper's unspoken inclinations and desires.

Underhill--whose clients include McDonald's, Starbuck's, Estee Lauder, and Blockbuster-- stocks Why We Buy with a bevy of retail epiphanies, 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 ageing baby-boom population and predicting how online retailing will affect shopping malls. This lighthearted look at the shopping is highly recommended for anyone who buys or sells. -- Rob McDonald, Amazon.com

Review:

.."Underhill..... has made a lot of money, for one simple reason: Many retail environments were broken, and his research helped fix them." -- Business 2.0 (Web), May 30th, 2002

...a fascinating analysis of the factors that both prompt and deter purchase. -- The Bookseller, 25 October 2002

A must read book for anyone doing business in today's complex shopping environment. Paco has the ability to explain the dynamics of today's retail environment. -- Daniel J. Brestle, President, Estie Lauder Inc.

A surprisingly entertaining book which has already become an international bestseller. -- femail.co.uk, November 29, 2001

Paco Underhill ... discusses in depth how retailers can lay out their stores to maximise their sales to each sex. -- Garden Centre Monthly, 1 July 2002

About this edition

• Publisher: Texere Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 158799044X
• ISBN 13: 9781587990441
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 255