Why We Buy - The Science of Shopping
by Paco Underhill

Patty O’Toole rates it 3 out of 5

I saw this author on a TV interview and read an article on him by the esteemed Malcolm Gladwell, so I figured this would be a good choice. And given the amount of time I spend in the “retail environment,” I consider myself a bit of an armchair expert on the art of shopping.

The book is an easy read, full of mostly amusing anecdotes and lots of data on people’s store habits and how product placement, store layout, and signage has a direct impact on shopping behavior and sales.

Underhill spends the first part of the book touting his development of Envirosell’s groundbreaking retail research service and its many successes for his retail clients, who suffered the effects of management and merchandisers who were oddly unaware of customer behavior and out of touch with their preferences.

Envirosell’s methodology is based on pure observation—they send trackers who literally follow shoppers around stores for hours to observe their behavior and report back to tabulate results. In one early study a retail CEO had no clue what percent of shoppers who entered his store actually bought anything; turned out it was only 43 percent.

The book is full of interesting and weird observations of human behavior in public spaces, like the “butt brush” factor, whereby shoppers (mainly women) will flee crowded product displays where others can brush up against them. There are also demographic and cultural influences in the way shoppers move through stores—Americans flow to the right, Euros veer to the left, women browse, men don’t, etc.

The effects of product placements—just moving something by one foot—can make a huge difference in sales. Poor product adjacencies affect behavior, i.e., don’t place teen-oriented duds near senior-targeted products because the seniors will avoid the kids. Another hot button for Underhill is accommodating males in department stores. Stores should provide some seating for bored men, but not near the lingerie area (due to an infamous Wonderbra incident).

Underhill describes much experimentation with store signage having a huge impact on sales, e.g., no small hanging signs (shoppers don’t notice them), nothing but basic signage near store entrances (shoppers rush past them). On product signage, labeling, and ads, he predicts increasing problems due to the failing eyesight of the baby boomers (packaging designers and art directors, read this, please…)

Some of the author’s opinions seem rather quaint, like recommending that stores provide baskets or carts for women who carry handbags. No female under 80 carries a “handbag.” He would also like to see computer stores situated next to women’s clothing stores. To pacify the guys, I guess.

So the next time you’re wandering around Sears and you notice someone lingering near you, it could be an Envirosell spy. In honor of good research, ignore them and just make sure they don’t butt brush you.

As for the book’s relevance to our world: Customers are king (or queen) and paying close attention to them is crucial to success in retail.

Relevance to my corner of our world (media planning): Placement is everything!