Paco Underhill

In Why We Buy (which should more accurately be titled How We Buy, since there is almost nothing on the the yawning abyss of soul-crushing emptiness inside that impels us Beyond Bed and Bath with credit cards aloft) takes us on the journey of Paco the Erstwhile Anthropologist, who spins his ethnographic credentials into a lucrative consulting business telling Target where it should locate its Ladies' Unmentionables. Sample tip from Dr. Paco to retailers: Your shoppers only have two hands! show more Make sure that shopping baskets are always available to them -- throughout the store -- so that Impulse Shopping can take place once two items are already selected! Also, if your grocery store has a Starbucks, make sure your carts have cupholders!

I valued this book because it enabled me to more intelligently thwart the merchandisers' attempt to seduce me with their colorful, touchable, and well-fonted product. Get thee behind me, merchandisers! I also think it sounds like too much fun to be one of the researchers at this firm, spying -- um, gathering data on unsuspecting shoppers as they are jostled from behind in the handbag section and as they squat to retrieve their herbal remedies. Like Papua New Guinea, but air-conditioned! show less

Although not currently employed in food service, at one point in my life I did work in the accounting department of a now defunct natural foods chain, and have always had an interest in how we make, sell, and eat food. This book scratches some of that itch. Its very chatty with pages of dialogue transcriptions (or recreations of conversations). It can be amusing and interesting but sometimes a little tedious. There are some interesting observations on changing food buying and marketing show more habits. However, not sure what to do with it all though as a consumer. Produce might be grown in a container instead of on a farm. Ok. Women are buying more alcohol. Ok. Authenticity counts. Agree. Ok. But then what? Most of our food system doesn't feel all that authentic anyway (and its worse if you start peeling back the layers). show less

For most of us, the mall has been around for as long as we can remember. But we hardly think about it that much; we just take it for granted. But Paco Underhill, on the other hand, founder of Envirosell, thinks about them all the time. His job is to meet with store executives and help run their stores better, by actually sending in his team of observers and watching how shoppers interact with the sales staff, the fixtures, and the products.

Underhill explores almost all aspects of mall show more sociology and economics. Underhill spends a lot of time with shoppers, listening to their advice, as well as with other consultants to gain a better understanding of the retail environment. He explores the parking lot with executives to help them understand it from the patrons’ point-of-view. He checks out the stores, the food court, the random kiosks, and even the bathrooms. He travels to malls all around the United States. Each chapter of Call of the Mall is devoted to a different part of the mall. Here are just some of his observations:

• Stores should sponsor the restrooms and make samples of their products available there (as well as where the patron can go to buy them).
• The store directories should be tabletop rather than a monolith that blocks the view of the newcomer.
• Food courts should be set up more like roadside bistros to facilitate the people-watching that naturally occurs there.
• There should be slightly more areas for men to congregate to keep them from nagging the people who dragged them there.

While there were some genuinely novel insights, most of his conclusions were rather uninspired. Although, they are the same gripes everybody has when going to the mall. Executives and mall owners seem only to want to simply squeeze money out of already existing business rather than spend a bit to encourage more spending.

He does see hope for the mall shopping landscape, however. New malls are incorporating innovative designs to appeal to a different breed of shoppers. They’re becoming more open-air, more ecologically friendly, and more integrated into the communities they support. While I’m still conflicted about the society that reveres the commercial good over the social good, it appears that we can have a balance of both and this book shows how we can get a little closer to that reality. A decent, quick read. show less

I had to read part of _Why We Buy_ for a class (and apply the lessons to libraries), but then I became obsessed and read the whole thing. The chapters on internet shopping are already pretty outdated, but otherwise it's GREAT. Paco Underhill has consulted everyone from Wal-Mart to Starbucks and McDonald's. He's the reason we feel compelled to buy in a lot of places. I could go on forever, but he's basically a genius and I learned a lot (both about how companies try to trick us and how to show more make the browsing experience more pleasant and fruitful for library users). show less