Apparel Mechanizing Book Review: Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping
Go shopping and see the malls through the gaze of Paco Underhill. You may feel so manipulated you never anything again -- what a saving! The author's name may sound like that of an exclusive men's clothing retailer but actually, he is a professional merchandising consultant who advises sellers how to draw consumers into their stores and more importantly, make them buy what is within. Firstly, the book makes an important distinction between marketing, which is increasing the number of people who come to the door with interest, in contrast to merchandising, which is everything you do after the consumer enters the store/
Being 'let in' on the tricky little secrets of merchants resonates with readers, who gaze upon New Jersey teenage girls shopping at California-style surfing shops to buy fashionable board shorts that the young ladies will never wear in the ocean, and women who enter stores like J. Jill for the experience and image it provides them of comfort and artistry, even though this image is manufactured as the faux Victorian nightgowns they will purchase later at Victoria's Secret. In other words, the selling of merchandise...
As part of his work and research for the book, Underhill has studied men who take jeans into fitting rooms and noted that they are more likely to buy than female counterparts, for example, that men prefer to 'get over' with the act of shopping, unlike women. However, despite the fact they spend less time in stores, men are beginning to shop like women, looking for a better fit and a better image, rather than simply buying the same clothing item year after year. Also, men are making more impulse purchases, once the main province of women, who tend to shop more, and to shop hungry, either in the food store for articles of consumption, or for clothing in the hour of need (rather than renting a tux for an event several months ahead.)
Underhill focuses not just on advertising and image but store design, noting the circulation patterns of how shoppers move throughout a store. He provides insight why the 'grab and go' things in the supermarket, like milk, are located in the depths of the store and why stores like the Gap puts its own 'bread and butter' items like jeans and sale merchandize in the…
