Sophia C. reviewed on 6/11/2011 + 289 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Why We Buy is an insightful introduction to 'the science of shopping.' Paco Underhill, whose articulate interview on PBS led me to his book, started a marketing research company that does empirical research on shoppers. This book—a distillation of many hours of systematically observing people shop—bridges the disconnect which often exists between corporate offices and the selling floor. It has analyzed what shoppers, broken down by anatomical constraints, age, and sex, need and want in order to open their wallets; the most common reasons why we buy (or don't) are not "I planned to" or "I need." However, the last part in this revised edition about the internet and global retailing seems like a disorganized, content-light advertisement for his company, Envirosell, thoughtlessly tacked on. Nonetheless, this book should be required reading for anyone in business school, sales, marketing, merchandising or retail in any capacity.

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