Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep on Buying No Matter What [Hardcover]

Lee Eisenberg (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 3, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0743296257 | ISBN-13: 978-0743296250

In this smart, engaging book, Lee Eisenberg, best-selling author of The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think about the Rest of Your Life, leads us on a provocative and entertaining tour of America's love/hate affair with shopping, a pursuit that, even in hard times, remains a true national pastime.

Why do we shop and buy the way we do? In a work that will explain much about the American character, Eisenberg chronicles the dynamics of selling and buying from almost every angle. Neither a cheerleader for consumption nor an anti-consumerist scold, he explores with boundless curiosity the vast machinery aimed at inducing us to purchase everything from hair mousse to a little black dress. He leads us, with understated humor, into the broad universe of marketing, retailing, advertising, and consumer and scientific research--an arsenal of powerful forces that combine to form what he calls "The Sell Side."

Through the rest of the book, Eisenberg leads us through the "Buy Side" -- a journey directly into our own hearts and minds, asking among other questions: What are we really looking for when we buy? Why are we alternately excited, guilt-ridden, satisfied, disappointed, and recklessly impulsive? What are our biases, need for status, impulses to self-express, that lead us individually to buy what we buy?

Are you a classic buyer (your head wants to do the right thing), or a romantic buyer (your heart just wants to have fun)? How do men and women differ in their attitudes towards shopping, and does the old cliche -- "Women shop, men buy" -- apply any longer?

Of special interest are the author's findings on the subject of What Makes a Good Buy? We all purchase things that we sooner or later regret, but what are the guidelines for making purchases that we'll never regret? What, for instance, defines the perfect gift?

Brimming with wit and surprise, Shoptimism will be delightful and instructive reading for anyone with a credit card and a healthy curiosity about American culture, through good times and bad. For here, in one vivid journey, is a memorable, panoramic portrait of our everyday self-delusions, desires, and dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Eisenberg (The Number) reveals the mechanisms of manufacturing needs and wants in this book that explores every facet of retail consumption, from advertising to behavioral marketing, from malls to Internet communities. The author presents his own family's consumption habits as a litmus test, which, while providing context, effectively sidelines the experiences of those who do not embrace consumerism with the same fervor. Dividing the retail landscape into Buy and Sell, Eisenberg provides a cornucopia of consumption trends, brain scans indicating beer preferences, zip-code–based lifestyle data, psychographic information, blogs and buzz measurement. Searching for a Unified Theory of Buying, the author dismisses analysts such as Marx for misunderstanding needs and Schor for scolding consumers. Entertaining the possibilities of Brand Communities, the author superficially considers Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital, settling finally on a typology of Romantic and Classic buyers. Although a thorough compendium of today's marketplace, the author's friendly come along with me tone sometimes devolves into glibness, and in accepting conditions as is, his observations might prove as fleeting as buyer's remorse. (Nov.)
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Review

"As a so-called advertising guru for the past fifty years, I found Shoptimism to be brimming over with wit and sly insight into the darker recesses of the consumer's soul." -- George Lois, member, Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, and pioneer of advertising's Creative Revolution

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743296257
• ISBN-13: 978-0743296250
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #897,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In addition to the success of his previous book, The Number, Lee Eisenberg has enjoyed a varied and distinguished career on both the creative and business sides in both the publishing and marketing worlds. As editor-in-chief of Esquire, he led the magazine to numerous national awards in diverse categories such as general excellence, reporting, and design.

In 1991, Eisenberg was recruited to be one of six founding partners of the Edison Project, an initiative to design a business and academic plan for a proposed system of world-class schools across the country.

In 1995, he joined Time Inc. where, as editor of strategic development, he helped TIME magazine launch a series of new initiatives, including Time.com; Time for Kids, a weekly newsmagazine for children; special issues on a number of topics, including medicine and art; and The TIME 100, a collaboration with CBS news that chronicled the most influential men and women of the twentieth century.

In 1999, Eisenberg was named executive vice president and creative director at Lands' End, where he oversaw all print and online creative efforts, as well as the company's national advertising, marketing, and public affairs activities.

Eisenberg resigned from Lands' End in 2004 to begin work on The Number, which the Quill Awards cited as one of the best business books of 2006, Business Week named one of the "Top 10 Career Books of 2006," and was winner of a "2007 Books for a Better Life Award." The book earned a place on numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and USA Today. There are now foreign editions of The Number in such far-flung markets as Turkey and Korea.

Since publication of The Number, Eisenberg has been a keynote speaker at dozens of U.S. and international conferences devoted to the emotional and material aspects of financial planning.

In 2006, Eisenberg began work on Shoptimism. The quest included a stint as a clerk at Target, numerous encounters with leading academic and marketing experts, a probe into the brave new world of online chatter, repeated forays into stores of every description, where Eisenberg observed the behavior - rational and otherwise - of strangers, friends, and family members, who kept on shopping through economic good times, then bad.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he has been a visiting scholar, Eisenberg was one of the founding fathers of Rotisserie League Baseball. He divides his time between Chicago and New York City.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Account, but Where's It Going? June 18, 2010

By Ink & Penner

Format:Hardcover

Our capable author offers extensive personal analysis-plus on today's kind of shoppers and sellers...in the mall, inside the store, on the internet. --Though, maybe by intentional omission, he doesn't say a whole lot about buying "stuff" on the web.

For the most part, Eisenberg takes a relatable look at why we buy and why we will buy forever (no matter what). Details are plenty and his story compelling. ~But it really goes directionless. For instance, the author leaves us with no "solutions" (even in his "Afterword") to issues of the inner- and outer goings-on of retail sales. ~Surely because, all along, he points out no real "problems."

It's a descriptive venture. On this page, he takes the side of clever merchants. On another, he's happy to side with buyers in their never-ending quest to amass as much "stuff" as possible. That's objectivity for you. There's no judgment. Nothing's "right" or "wrong." She buys. He sells...and Eisenberg leaves it at that. Imagery abounds. Quick facts and figures are everywhere.

~But who's this book written for? College professors on the subject have likely heard it all before and probably already have enough buy-n-sell books with far more depth and rigor. Matter of fact, the author quotes many, many of these university academics, study experts, and social scientists along the way. ~And, why would shoppers care about motivations for/clarifications on their own buying habits? Eisenberg suggests: "Shoes On Sale!" is the kind of particulars most shoppers really care about.

The book'd be a winner if it didn't get all tangled up in the vague psychologies of selling and (mostly) buying. Romantic buyers? Classic buyers? Mars? Venus? Freud? Tom O'Guinn? (I didn't know him either. --from the U. of Wisc...., author of an all-important (?) "Compulsive Buying Scale," as we learn.) Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu? Don't ask...there are dozens more. Here are 300+ pages that include dry (useful?) psycho-text on buy-side hypotheses and sell-side theory. For example, there're plenty of (useless?) data on "psychographic buckets," "magic mirrors," "brain scans," "proprietary profile platforms," and the stealth practices of sell-side marketers and tricksters.

It's a consistent mix, sometimes interesting, sometimes dulling, sometimes hard to keep a close focus on, as the author swiftly moves from anecdote to academic quote to fact and chart and back...right on the beat. He even just skims significant efforts of Paco Underhill, nationally-known retail marketing guru. As such, the wintry socio-psycho conjecture and detail lies limp amid scores of fascinating bright, witty passages describing the author's own experiences inside Michigan Avenue stores in Chicago, the Mall of America in Minnesota and on Madison Avenue in New York...among numerous outlets.

~A 50% interesting, readable book, put together in a scattered-but-easy-going style. Having read it, I'm no better a shopper. Target probably still won't hire merchandise-savvy floor people because of it, and sellers will continue to come up with their own clever new ways to capture attentions of buyers. It's a fast-moving retailing overview that's but thick with surface detail. ~Like a personal diary: attention-grabbing --but it goes nowhere. The book's ok...but since there are many more-focused consumerism books available, no need to make a point of casually reading this one.... Read more ›

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and informative book about shopping and much more. November 22, 2009

By David Fardon

Format:Hardcover

Shoptimism is a fun and informative book about shopping, but it is much more. As a social history of America's past several decades, it informed me of much of what I had not observed around me and was nostalgic for many things I had all but forgotten. The book explores how shopping-related phenomena influence our present and have shaped our past.
For example, it recalled a memory from the mid-1960's. I was in a barbershop, waiting, reading Esquire magazines (of which Lee Eisenberg later became editor). In one, was an article called "The Ins and the Outs," in which numerous consumer goods, personalities, activities, etc. of American life were classed as "In" or "Out". In the next issue was a Letter to the Editor, which stated, in its entirety, "Re: The Ins and The Outs; what in the hell are you talking about?" If I could find the writer of that letter now, I would have him read Lee Eisenberg's book.
Shoptimism is full of information and wide-ranging references that entertain, challenge, and inform. As a physician, I found fascinating the explorations into the classification of "shopaholism" as a mental disorder and the examinations of cutting edge neurobiology as related to consumerism. The cleverness of the writing, with plays on the jargon of the topics and argot of the subjects, and the conversational tone keep the reading from being heavy even though some of the topics are weighty.
Mr. Eisenberg is to be congratulated upon the even-handed treatment he gives contentious subjects. He avoids polemics and does not violate the reader's trust. The book treats a trendy topic with academic thoroughness without forfeiting the fun of trendiness. If I were a marketing or communications teacher, I would recommend it to my students.... As father of grown children, I will give copies to my kids for
Christmas. Read more ›

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for the Buy Side and Sell Side November 19, 2009

By Yale L Hollander

Format:Hardcover

In the era of hyper-focused, niche marketed business texts, it's refreshing to read a book like Shoptimism which provides insight that benefits a number of different readerships, particularly those on the Sell Side (the sellers of goods and their cadres of marketers, consultants and other consumer-enablers) and those on the Buy Side (consumers in their various iterations). Aspiring retailers, salesfolk looking to better understand their constituencies, consumer psychologists and wannabe Mad Men (or Mad Women) will all benefit from the book's "Consumerism 101" stroll through the mind of the American consumer and the entities that may be pressing the buttons that spin the wheels inside that mind. Individuals who want a better understanding of why they buy and what forces may be motivating that decision-making process (or perhaps to self-diagnose an alarming lack of such process) will also be well served by this book. The author's use of personal anecdotes, whether it be a recounting of his brief tenure as a Target floorwalker, a trip to the dressing room with his wife or his observations regarding his teenage son's quest for an elusive pair of Japanese sneakers, brings some real-world perspective to a subject that many consumers take for granted or spend little time analyzing. His "come along with me" perspective when delving into the nerve center of retail anthropologist/consultant Paco Underhill or exploring the seamy underbelly of the knockoff trade is effective and informative without dipping into the realm of sensationalistic "investigative journalism." Eisenberg's conversational writing style avoids the didactic but never veers into glibness.... This particular writing style - peer to peer if you will - has long been his hallmark dating back to his days as a writer for and later editor in chief of Esquire magazine. This voice works very well in addressing a subject like American consumerism where I submit we could all use a bit more education. The recently-departed Sy Syms was right -- an educated consumer IS the best customer. This book will certainly move consumers closer to that status. Read more ›