false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255615905m/6983949.jpg 259031 15 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.<p> Underhill, whose clients include McDonald's, Starbucks, Estée Lauder, and Blockbuster, stocks <I>Why We Buy</I> 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. <I>--Rob McDonald</I> 44720 1999 Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping total:632|5:124|4:267|3:181|2:48|1:12| 632 2339 1137 135 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 1 4 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 01 06:21:43 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 06 15:47:30 -0700 2007 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 1 1 false Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 06 20:32:19 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 17 23:26:27 -0700 2009 First, it is outdated, which is my own fault -- he has a newer book and I happened to pick up the wrong one at the library. There are references to dial-up modems and portable cassette players, among other things.
Second, it reads like a sales pitch. T...more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 1 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 11:53:54 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 30 14:06:24 -0800 2007
For librarians, this book has a vital message: marketing (and thinking about marketing...more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Sun Apr 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 05:17:40 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 05:31:07 -0700 2009
Despite its pop-sciency title, this book is written by the world's premier "retail anthropologist," a term the author is happy to admit he more or less invented. He also admits that he remains pretty much the only practitioner. Still, he knows his stuff.

The book d...more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 3 0 false Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 11:07:11 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 11:06:01 -0700 2009
When I got this book from the library, I thought it would be a sociological view about shopping/trade and the role that commerce plays within society...

Instead, this book reads more like a manual on how to effectively st...more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 2 0 false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 30 09:25:25 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 09:23:30 -0700 2009 Some points I found interesting and profoundly true:
-You nee...more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 3 0 true Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 18:05:36 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 08:05:05 -0800 2009 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 08:39:56 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 08:41:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 5 0 false Tue Oct 14 15:44:56 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 18 16:54:33 -0700 2008 1 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 18:33:24 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 18:46:39 -0700 2008 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 3 0 false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Fri Dec 21 10:10:08 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 21 10:11:05 -0800 2007 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Sat Nov 29 18:34:57 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 18:40:15 -0800 2008 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Sat May 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 13:02:09 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 17:13:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3721283 1416595244 9781416595243 7 2 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256143567m/3721283.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3721283.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_of_Shopping_Updated_and_Revised_for_the_Internet_the_Global_Consumer_and_Beyond 3 0 false Sun May 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 08:12:16 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 14:03:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Thu Nov 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 14:57:35 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 12:48:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 3 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 27 11:38:34 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 11:41:36 -0700 2009
However, I felt that Underhill re...more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Fri Jul 31 08:34:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 31 08:46:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Fri Mar 05 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Wed Feb 18 11:17:58 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 11:17:58 -0800 2009 Why We Buy, will give you rare insight as to how retailers encourage, persuade, and otherwise coerce you into parting with your hard-earned cash. The author's firm is hired by stores large and small to help them understand their buyers, and ho...more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 4 0 false Wed Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 19:48:41 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 19:50:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 259031 0684849143 9780684849140 580 124 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173214682m/259031.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/259031.Why_We_Buy_The_Science_Of_Shopping 3 0 false Wed Dec 31 00:22:35 -0800 2008 Wed Jul 01 09:46:29 -0700 2009
Heard about this one on NPR, the author seems interesting and the book goes into the anthropological and psychological reasoning behind consumer purchases.

Thoughts after reading it:

Great read, informative and entertaining - and it will absolutely...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/1?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/3?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/2?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/4?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/5?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/6?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/7?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/9?book_id=6983949 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/10?book_id=6983949