基本信息出版社：Simon & Schuster
页码：256 页
出版日期：2000年06月
ISBN：0684849143
条形码：9780684849140
装帧：平装
外文书名：为什么我们买: 购物学

内容简介 在线阅读本书

Is there a method to our madness when it comes to shopping? Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "a Sherlock Holmes for retailers," author and research company CEO Paco Underhill answers with a definitive "yes" in this witty, eye-opening report on our ever-evolving consumer culture. Why We Buy is based on hard data gleaned from thousands of hours of field research -- in shopping malls, department stores, and supermarkets across America. With his team of sleuths tracking our every move, from sweater displays at the mall to the beverage cooler at the drugstore, Paco Underhill lays bare the struggle among merchants, marketers, and increasingly knowledgeable consumers for control.

In his quest to discover what makes the contemporary consumer tick, Underhill explains the shopping phenomena that often go unnoticed by retailers and shoppers alike, including:

How a well-placed shopping basket can turn a small purchase into a significant sale

What the "butt-brush factor" is and how it can make sales plummet

How working women have altered the way supermarkets are designed

How the "boomerang effect" makes product placement ever more challenging

What kinds of signage and packaging turn browsers into buyers

For those in retailing and marketing, Why We Buy is a remarkably fresh guide, offering creative and insightful tips on how to adapt to the changing customer. For the general public, Why We Buy is a funny and sometimes disconcerting look at our favorite pastime.
作者简介 Paco Underhill is the founder of Envirosell, a research and consulting practice specialising in consumer shopping patterns and retail strategies. His clients include Calvin Klein, Hallmark Cards, Microsoft, Burger King, and Blockbuster Entertainment. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
媒体推荐 From Kirkus Reviews
Shopping is one of the defining qualities of modern civilization, but this author convincingly argues that consumers may have a greater impact on the act of shopping than shopping has on them. Just as social scientists study people in natural conditions, Underhill studies consumers in retail environments. Hes no academic, however, but a ``real-world'' consultant with such clients as McDonald's, General Mills, and the US Postal Service. Although Underhills work involves a certain amount of intuition and creative thinking, its primarily based on hard evidence: the measurements accumulated by teams of trackers working on the floors and behind the scenes of retail establishments. Details gathered from observation of consumers pinpoint problems with products, shelving, signage, register lines, and other factors. Such monitoring prompted one of the author's key insightsthat any space in which people are likely to be jostled from behind can lead to shopper discomfort (dubbed ``butt sensitivity''). The solution: wider aisles. Underhill explores both similarities and differentiating features in the shopping experiences of varied groups, including the distinctive ways in which men and women browse and make purchasing decisions. His dissection of the retail industry finds much to criticize, but the book also dignifies shopping as a central focus of human activity. The author's company, whose work is cited throughout, has earned its way by spotting flaws and advising retail owners on how to fix them, not merely to boost profits, but because the profits come from improving the quality of the shopping experience for customers. Underhill also analyzes the emerging arena of online shopping, offering tips for improved performance. Sales here will accelerate, the author believes, but they dont fundamentally threaten the future of old-fashioned human sales interactions. A strong portrait of consumers as the most efficient arbiters of what to sell and how to sell it. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
R. J. IgneiziThe San Diego Union-TribuneNo matter which point of view you're coming from, shopper or shopkeeper, you'll find Underhill's tips are often funny, sometimes provocative, and almost always usable.

Erica MarcusNewsdayWhat Underhill offers in this delightful and engrossing book is a primer in the science of shopping....The effect of reading this book is that of being alternately entertained by hilarious stories and enlightened by trenchant observations.

Erica MarcusNewsdayWhat Underhill offers in this delightful and engrossing book is a primer in the science of shopping...The effect of reading this book is that of being alternately entertained by hilarious stories and enlightened by trenchant observations.

Review
Erica Marcus Newsday What Underhill offers in this delightful and engrossing book is a primer in the science of shopping...The effect of reading this book is that of being alternately entertained by hilarious stories and enlightened by trenchant observations.
编辑推荐 Amazon.com
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, Estée Lauder, and Blockbuster, 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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
专业书评 From Publishers Weekly
Underhill, once a budding academic who worked on a William H. Whyte project analyzing how people use public spaces, adapted anthropological techniques to the world of retail and forged an innovative career with the consulting firm Envirosell. Since brand names and traditional advertising don't necessarily translate into sales, Underhill argues that retail design based on his company's closeAvery closeAobservation of shoppers and stores holds the key. His anecdotes contain illuminating detail. For example, since bookstore shoppers like to browse, baskets should be scattered throughout the store to make it easier for customers to carry their purchases. In clothing stores, fitting rooms are best placed closer to the men's department, because men choose based on fit, while women consider more variables. And he sprinkles in other smart suggestions: drugstores could boast a consolidated "men's health" department; computer stores, to attract women, should emphasize convenience and versatility, not size and speed; and clerks at luxury hotels should use hand-held computers to check in travelers from lobby chairs. Underhill remains skeptical about cyberspace retail, believing that Web sites can't offer the sensory stimuli, immediate gratification or social interaction available in brick-and-mortar stores. While the book does little to analyze the international, regional or ethnic dimensions of the subject, it should aid those in business while intriguing urban anthropologists, amateur and professional.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
The title for this treatment of marketing research in the retail setting is misleading. Underhill, founder of the behavioral research company Envirosell, summarizes some of the firm's conclusions about the interaction between consumers and products and consumers and commercial spaces. He lays claim to the research techniques of urban anthropology, but his casual, self-congratulatory tone and loose organization make the book inappropriate for academic use. Underhill breezes through anecdotes about how observing the mundane details of shopping improves retail sales, but there is limited grounding in the framework of his "science." Given the lack of recent titles on the topic, this is recommended for large collections with an emphasis on retailing.APaula Dempsey, DePaul Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
It is fascinating, this business of how and why people shop. Self-styled urban geographer and retail anthropologist Underhill has carved a niche--and a substantially good living--with observations ranging from the purchasing of cosmetics to the positioning of shopping carts and baskets. Here, he explains how he began his retail meanderings, inspired by teacher William H. Whyte (The Organization Man), and what exactly constitutes the shopping science. Each chapter delves into a particular aspect of a store environment and its interface with customers: the importance of signage and why less is more, how men shop (they ignore price tags, for one), the need to cater to boomers, and clues about waiting time. Throughout, insights are peppered with one or several examples; a section on Internet shopping, for instance, uses statistics and case histories to explain why cyber retailing will never command the top percentage of retail sales. Intriguing for both lovers and haters of the game of visual stimulation. Barbara Jacobs --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.