Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping – Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond

The book contains extensive conclusions made through observations of the shoppers, providing insights into what works and what doesn’t – some of them obvious, some eye-opening. For example, the commonly accepted practice of retailers providing signage and offers at the entry point of a store, which behavior studies show few shoppers notice when entering, as opposed to farther back in the store. The many examples of how unpredictably shoppers can act and respond provides great reading for retail professionals as well as those interested in consumer behavior.

There is some disconnect at times between the research findings and the author’s framework or methodology for applying to your business. The book at times seems an anthropological study of shoppers, while providing little in the way of a system of measurement or application for the retail professional. Also, the chapter on the Internet presents it as an appendage to the retail store setting, rather than applying more scientific research to this new medium on its own merits, as is commonly done with the bricks and mortar environment.

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 iTunes to Amazon can drastically improve how it serves its customers.
• A guided tour of the most innovative stores, malls and retail environments around the world — almost all of which are springing up in countries where prosperity is new. An enormous indoor ski slope attracts shoppers to a mall in Dubai; an uber luxurious Sao Paolo department store provides its customers with personal shoppers; a mall in South Africa has a wave pool for surfing.

The new Why We Buy is an essential guide — it offers advice on how to keep your changing customers and entice new and eager ones.

Many of the behavioral research findings of this book are directly relevant and applicable to the retail environment, to fine-tune the retail offering and score quick sales gains. The author’s years of experience in this field provide interesting findings for the retail professional, consultant or student of marketing. In what sometimes seems obvious when presented by the findings, this book underscores how often these concepts can be overlooked by even the experienced retail manager.

If you are interested in more biological and neuroscientific reasons why we buy, check out The Buying Brain (Senteo review).