Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping Book Report
...ly refers to Internet selling as “the next great leap forward for the world of bricks and mortar stores” whereas today, that leap as already been taken). This is of no real fault of the author but is due to the rapid speed with which this industry is evolving. Even today, the capabilities of e-retailers with regards to tracking customer behavior are much more advanced than it was at the time of publication. Written before the dot-com crash, the book does not address the fact that retailers have come to understand what is being expected of an Internet retailing operation. Through this understanding, great strides have been made in the quest to provide the customer with a more seamless shopping experience. The e-retailer of 2004 and beyond is a completely different animal than that of 1999-2000. In most examples, the author gives only one possible solution for a retail problem. For example, when looking at why a sign is not being noticed, Underhill will simply offer that the location is incorrect and that if moved it would be more effective. In this regard he does not offer any other possible causes of the sign’s poor performance. For example, it may not be appealing artistically, may be poorly lighted, or could be trying to covey too much information. While many of these issues are raised in other examples, it is rarely indicated why a particular problem is seen as the major issue in each. Rather, we are to believe the author’s recommendations simply based upon his interpretation of the problem, rarely backed up by factual data. This reliance upon interpretation data is especially an issue in chapters eight through eleven where the author describes the four customer types (male, female, young and old). Generalizations are made, correctly or incorrectly, with little data to back them up. For example, Underhill describes a Dad as someone who is “notoriously bad at saying no…Part of being Daddy is being the provider…It goes to the heart of the man’s self-image.” While this may be true in many cases, there is no way to find out how often this rings true. As well, the author provides no way of knowing how he arrived at this point. It seems, through this book, that Underhill’s success factor is the total number of customers who shop or purchase at a particular location. He pays much less attention to the attracting the right type of customer – the one who is most profitable. In marketing you are taught that not all customers are the right customers. There are people you would rather not have in your store as they detract from the store image you have worked hard to create. Underhill should have made a distinction on how to make the shopping experience as comfortable as possible for those customers rather than just attempting to appeal to as broad a market as possible. A final point that detracts from the overall book is Underhill’s approach when discussing the importance of the “intercept rate.” While it may be true that a direct correlation lies between the level of shopper-employee contact and the value of the average sale, he does not make the distinction between employees being available to answer customer queries and assist them with their shopping needs and being overly aggressive in trying to close a sale. Customers are naturally averse to aggressive salespeople. It creates a sense of anxiety and pressure in their shopping experience which they tend to eliminate by simply walking out of the store or worse yet, by avoiding that store entirely. While there is certainly nothing wrong with being available to assist the customer should the need arise, salespeople need to be incredibly intuitive as there is a fine line between being perceived as either helpful or aggressive. This book has definitely enhanced my knowledge of retail management from a practical and highly applicable point of view. The lessons learned in this book can be easily implemented in most any retail operation. The most important insight I have taken from this book is the ease of which a person is able to lose sight of the plain truths in the details of planning and that any store should reflect the nature of the beings that use them. Some the plain truths detailed in the book include (but is certainly not limited to) the relationship between anatomy and the shopping experience. Obviously we can only carry that merchandise which our bodies will allow. Therefore, to carry more, we will need a cart or bag of some sort. As we don’t always recognize how much we will be buying as soon as we enter the store it would make sense to make carts or bags available throughout the store. Another plain truth that I have never recognized was the fact that most people are right handed. Therefore, most people will find it easier to reach an item placed to the right of their body rather than to the left. A final example of a plain truth made obvious to me through reading this book is the fact that people face and walk forward. Therefore it would make sense to place signs perpendicular to the customer’ typical walking route rather than placing them parallel. Through reading this book I have also become aware of how the changing social order is having a massive impact on the retailing industry. With males staying single longer than ever before and females taking on full time positions outside of the home, more and more responsibility is being placed in the hands of men with regards to shopping. Years before it was the social norm that men would be the primary provider for the family while females would handle the shopping and house-keeping responsibilities. This is no longer the case. A successful retailer is going to be one who makes a conscious effort to accommodate the male in situations or places in which they may not be entirely comfortable. However, retailers also have to be aware that females are gaining more power when it comes to making final purchase decisions. As well, their social role is changing rapidly. To exemplify this we take a look at the rise of the Home Depot. Home maintenance and repair was once solely a male realm. However, with the Home Depot positioning themselves not only as a source for products but also for information, women are feeling more encouraged in taking on these challenges themselves. The main lesson I have taken from this book in this regard is that a successful retailer is one that is constantly aware of changing social conditions and accommodates both males and females as this trend towards social-gender equilibrium continues. Another lesson I have learned is the importance of store layout and design. This relates back to an earlier point I have mentioned that is a store should reflect the beings that use them. By studying how people shop within a store it can be determined the ideal location for signage and product, the ideal width of shopping aisles (keeping in mind the butt-brush factor – the fact that women do not enjoy being jostled from behind and will avoid it even if it means walking away from a display) and the ideal location for change rooms. The layout has to offer maximum comfort and ease to the shopper. Children’s clothing departments should not be so cluttered with racks and bins that a parent can not traverse the area with a stroller. Products (such as gift wrapping) which do not cross the customer’s mind until after other purchases have been made should be placed towards the check-out counter, not towards the entrance where the shopper is busy thinking about other, more essential purchases. These are just a couple of the points I have learned through the author’s detailed look at store layout and design. Despite the many great points the author makes I really only found parts I and II to be of use to me. These were sections based mostly upon the research conducted in the past by the author and his company. These findings were of interest to me as they have not been widely covered in other m...