Customer Reviews

Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is terrible - based on a "formula" that is pure conjecture and intuitively incorrect: Your likelihood of buying something is equal to (Need + Feature set + Affordability) x Emotion^2.

To suggest that your propensity (to use her word) to buy something will always increase with each additional feature is obviously wrong. Too many features kills a product.

To suggest that your propensity is affected by the square of your emotional response (to the retail store you are in or something else) is completely without evidence. At best, the idea that emotion has more impact than the other terms is argueable. To couch that idea in a mathematical "formula" suggests the author is a charlatan.

Furthermore, the book interrupts the flow of text with magazine style "sound bites", which gives the impression the author either believes that a) the reader is skimming and needs to be prompted to stop and read this section, or b) the author is in such love with her prose it needs to be repeated a second time in larger font.

Don't waste your time (let alone your money) with this book.

This book is a must read for any retailer or wholesaler needing to re-envent themselves regarding understanding how the consumer buys and what they must do to grab the consumers attention. It is not all about price. The shopping habits are changing and the retailer needs to understand that they must also change in order to survive todays business environment. Pam has really nailed this one from all angles and support comes from her complete research findings. Great Job and REMARKABLE INFORMATION.

If you have a retail business or plan to establish one, this is an excellent resource to learn more about what customers want.

If you enjoy friendly, intriguing conversation, you will love this book. It's written by a woman in the market research profession -- who also loves shopping. Her voice is very enjoyable as she addresses psychological concepts in a light-hearted manner. Plus she regularly refers to things she likes to buy, which makes it feel like we are window shopping together while I read.

I read marketing books and small business books every day. Most of them aren't bad, but they get old and repetitive. You start to hear the same suggestions over and over and over; there is a limit to how much postulating about my business I can take! Pamela's book is different. It feels like we are talking about our lives, our kids, our favorite fashions... and all the while she is sharing the gems of knowledge from her years of experience.

I would recommend this book if you are a business owner, marketer, or just a lover of great shopping adventures.