Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping--Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"At last, here is a book that gives this underrated skill the respect it deserves."-- The New York Times

" Thanks, Mr. Underhill, for explaining in clear and witty prose why my shopping habits are not all that crazy. Now, please tell my wife!"-- Bob Gale, writer/producer, Back to the Future trilogy

"I'm in love. And if I didn't have a devoted husband, two kids and a crushing mortgage, I swear I'd throw caution to the wind and run away with Paco Underhill...fascinating."-- Rocky Mountain News (Denver)

"Why We Buy is a funny and insightful book for people on both sides of the retail counter."-- Michael Gould, CEO, Bloomingdale's

Product Description

Revolutionary retail guru Paco Underhill is back with a completely revised edition of his classic, witty bestselling book on our ever-evolving consumer culture -- full of fresh observations and important lessons from the cutting edge of retail, which is taking place in the world's emerging markets. New material includes:

• The latest trends in online retail -- what retailers are doing right and what they're doing wrong -- and how nearly every Internet retailer from iTunes to Amazon can drastically improve how it serves its customers.

• A guided tour of the most innovative stores, malls and retail environments around the world -- almost all of which are springing up in countries where prosperity is new. An enormous indoor ski slope attracts shoppers to a mall in Dubai; an uber luxurious Sao Paolo department store provides its customers with personal shoppers; a mall in South Africa has a wave pool for surfing.

The new Why We Buy is an essential guide -- it offers advice on how to keep your changing customers and entice new and eager ones.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Upd Rev edition (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416595244
• ISBN-13: 978-1416595243
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,320 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #5 in	Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Research
  #21 in	Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Consumer Behavior
  #36 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Business & Culture > Web Marketing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, though it ends badly, January 5, 2009

By	oldtaku (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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The first four parts of this book are absolutely fascinating. It's an in depth look at the psychology of shopping and it is exactly what the title promises. Underhill's company gets paid to spy on people in stores and see what they're doing wrong and right. The gems in this book are the anecdotes and the specific revelations about how any obstacle you put in the way of a shopper drops your sales figures. Any way you can make life easier raises your sales. This all seems sort of obvious, but most people running the businesses don't think it through.

One example is the entry zone at the front of the store - you'd think that's a prime location for signage, deals, brochures, etc. But when you're headed through the door into the store you see almost nothing and stop for almost nothing, and then (in America) you tend to drift to the right and then you're 'in' the store. If you put a store directory just inside the door, nobody uses it. Move it back a bit so you can find it once you're into the store and suddenly it's heavily utilized. He has hard observational data for all these, so they're compelling in addition to being fascinating.

And of course all the bad examples are great fun to read (seniors crawling along floors trying to read labels on badly shelved medicine), as are the descriptions of how different groups shop (male vs female, old vs young, parents vs. single, etc.) The whole book is pretty much a commercial for Underhill's company, but it's still informative and fun reading.

Where the book falls down is at the end, where a chapter on the Internet is shoehorned in and a perfunctory shout out to each of Envirosell's worldwide branches is included.

Even though I think he's more right than wrong, the whole Internet chapter comes across as a confused old guy muttering about how he doesn't get that new fangled rock music. He complains about how many review sites there are, for instance, and has no idea how much it can transform the shopping experience (and not just be a poor supplement). Worse, the book's entire premise is mostly about how you need observational data of real customers because they'll always do things you don't expect (can't argue there), but he HAS no data on this topic, so it's just not compelling. I can't help but think the whole chapter is just in there because 'we need something about teh intertubes'.

The 'Come Fly With Me' chapter must be in here because he needs to professionally backscratch all his international partners. It's pretty much useless and turns a mild commercial into an infomercial.

If I sound too negative, please don't take it that way - I'm just trying to tell you why this isn't a five star book. You have 220 pages of 'awesome and can't put it down' book followed by 40 pages of 'what the hell am I doing reading this' slog, then another 30 pages of fairly decent reading. If you don't read those two chapters, it's a five star book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every consumer should read this classic, April 14, 2009

By	M. Greenwood (Connecticut) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I used the first edition of this text in an American-studies graduate class. This newer edition is a bit updated (always good in a field like this) but mostly just in the last chapter, which is about electronic (internet) shopping. So, if you already have an earlier edition, you probably don't need this one: going to a library to check out the last chapter would be enough to update you. However, if you have no edition, I highly recommend "Why We Buy." Whether you are in the biz of selling or you are just an average consumer, this classic belongs on your shelf and should be periodically reread. I had my daughters read parts of it when they were teens so that they would become aware of how seriously the shopping industry is researched and geared to manipulate shoppers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding myself as a consumer, February 22, 2009

By	S. Hatfield "sfreader" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I heard Paco speak on NPR Winter 2009, and I thought, well this is interesting in light of our economy collapsing. I had no idea he would walk me through my own mindset as I enter a store, and why I end up buying so many things I only realized I needed once I took them home. Now that I am unemployed, (and lacking that discretionary income that gave me the option to not really think about what I was doing), I at least have a better idea of when I feel like I am being manipulated by store marketing (even if I still buy the salsa to go with the chips to go with the coke...) I would love to get Paco's insights on the effect of a much smaller budget for the American Household, and what smart stores will do to adjust.