Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping–Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond
02/07
- ISBN13: 9781416595243
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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… More >>
I bought this book because I thought it dealt more on the psychology of the consumer –literally, WHY we buy. Turns out this book is geared more towards marketers and those involved in the efficiency of store design and operation. My business-brained husband is definitely getting more from this book than I am. I’m giving the book 4 stars however because it’s written well, and it doesn’t drown me in business-speak.
Paco Underhill is a crack analyst of consumer behavior, and an engaging writer who has introduced terms like “butt brush” (the undesired physical contact one experiences in narrow-aisled stores like Walmart) into the American language. I really liked the original 2000 WHY WE BUY.
So why only four stars this time? Because a lot of this book is not truly new. And much of what there is, may be more useful as a current-events survey than as a guide for consumers or merchants. For example, back in 2000 Underhill bemoaned the vapidity and unoriginal character of most shopping-mall stores and even the monotony of the allegedly trendy kiosks that clutter the hallways.
Underhill is vindicated — the shopping mall did not keep pace with consumers’ needs and desires and now, as a retail insititution, many of them are in deep trouble, with unconquerably high vacancy rates and even higher apathy rates among budget-stressed Americans. Underhill the author is too big to say “I told you so” even though he has the right to. And this new WHILE WE BUY is honestly billed as a revision, but that doesn’t make it particularly compelling.
In any past recession or depression, enterpreneurs have made millions by figuring out how to cater to consumers in new ways. Steak ‘n’ Shake was founded in 1934 to offer a table-service restaurant that is clean, honest, and low priced, and the company has never looked back. Interesting retail phenomena are going to happen, but whether even the best consumer analysts and sociologists of shopping will predict it, remains to be seen. Underhill still seems more interested in rehabilitating the mall movement rather than finding radical alternatives to it. — a.s.
This is a beautifully-written book but it does not explain why people buy. It talks anecdotally about how merchants can create a more pleasant and informative buying environment for shoppers. This is an important subject and is where Underhill’s has considerable experience and expertise. He makes a lot of suggestions about further improvements he would like to see in the consumer’s shopping experience. He seems to really struggle to explain the Internet’s impact on shopping. The later part of the book, which appears to have been written about a decade after the original publication, has an end-of-career feel to it with lots of retrospective comments and bouquets tossed in all directions. Again, terrific writing and some interesting personal observations, philosophies and travel experiences but not a full-bodied explanation as to why people buy.
I read the first version of this book a few years ago, and would highly recommend it. In fact, I was recommending it on a message board, and saw the updated version. “Oh, cool! I’m going to get it to read on my Kindle!” Oh, wait. It’s not available on the Kindle. I guess Mr. Underhill and his publishers aren’t quite hip to the new technologies.
This is the first edition of the book I have read based on a recommendation. In large part it provides many fascinating, amusing insights into how retailers inadvertently miss out on sales as a direct result of how they position things, layout etc. A lot of his observations are based on solid common sense ie making the text on medicine bottles large font so seniors can read it, and many of his stories based on solid research data from many years experience stand up well. Some of the case studies he provides are pretty funny, and you can see examples when you’re out next.
The final two chapters are the problem, and why this star rating has been given.
The chapter on the Internet is just terrible – and seems to be written by someone who just doesn’t “get it”. He pooh poohs the idea of review sites without understanding the huge value they add to a shopping experience.
His understanding of Internet security and electronic cash is poor – he says “once you start putting cash into electronic form, crime plummets.” This is clearly not the case with all the cyber scams happening on a regular basis, and increasing exponentially as more and more financial transactions are purely electronic.
He is condescending about Facebook and social networking sites “From my cynical standpoint, Facebook users are triangulating through the social network because they lack the courage, opportunity and geographical proximity to come face-to-face with an actual living, breathing human being”. In so doing, he completely dismisses the value of having a tool which connects people – social networking does not need to be a substitute for “real” relationships; it can simply offer an additional way to enhance the friendships we already have. On that basis, he could easily dismiss the invention of the telephone, email etc as poor substitutes for the real thing! This seems a little out of character from someone who professes to have been at the forefront of cell phone and PDA technology.
If Underhill and his organization are to remain relevant to the way retailers are evolving, they would benefit from becoming deeply familiar with how shoppers often delight in using the Internet as a worthy substitute to pounding the malls. There is an art to shopping online – working out which review sites are truly useful, being a savvy shopper, having access to a whole range of goods which we wouldn’t usually have within geographical proximity, using a combination of Internet/conventional methods to get the best research and the best deals. And Underhill’s approach of focusing on what the shopper actually does, rather than what the retailer/software designers expect them to do is the correct one. They just need to find a way of applying those methods to Internet shopping. The difficulty with this is being able to mimic the experience of being able to observe Internet shoppers without their knowledge to record “real behavior” – a dilemna I acknowledge!
The only worthy suggestions in the Internet chapter are the availability of online experts when buying and convergence – as appliances become more Internet-enabled.
The “Come Fly with Me” chapter is also poor with a detailed explanation of how he expanded his business. Strangely I don’t care – I would rather have heard about the subtle nuances of how shopping habits differ across the globe in key markets – eg China, India, Latin America. There are a few references to this, but the majority of this chapter focuses on him meeting people at various parties and events, and his hiring decisions, and how it’s all working out so well – quite irrelevant to the book.
It’s a pity that Underhill felt the need to update this book which was already a classic with these chapters as I think he did it a disservice overall. I would still recommend the book as I think it has some useful insights to share – if you avoid the last two chapters, it’s an enjoyable read.