Formats: ePub, Mobi, LIT, LRF, PDF, RTF, TXT

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.

Underhill, whose clients include McDonald's, Starbucks, Estee Lauder, and Block-
buster, stocks Why We Buy 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. --Rob McDonald

Download File Size:6.39 MB

---