AT On... Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

We've often groused about our hyper-consumer culture -- usually as we've tossed another 16-pack of paper towels into our cart at Costco. What is it, exactly, about shopping that is so good... even though we know it's so bad?

Paco Underhill goes a long way towards answering that question in his book Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. There's a lot here that will give you pause the next time you're in the supermarket and about to grab that unbeatable deal on the endcap (you know, the thing that's not on your list, but you really need anyway.)

But beyond the explanations of studies of consumer behavior, there's a more reflective message: shopping is one of the few things we do that lets us engage with the world with all of our senses. While this is clearly not the point of the book, armed with that knowledge, you can start thinking about alternatives to shopping that give you the same sensorial experience: volunteering; going for a walk in an unfamiliar place; visiting the library.

And speaking of the library, we're betting yours has a copy of Underhill's book so you can read it without spending a dime. But if you've found all this talk about shopping just puts you in the mood to spend, you can also find the book at Amazon for $10.20, or as a paper-free audio book download at iTunes for $18.95, or at Audible, where the non-subscriber price is $20.86.

A self proclaimed "retail archeologist" Paco's entire mission is the science of environment on comsumer...to encourage you to spend more.

posted by hdtex on April 9th 2008 at 3:01pm
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i've looked into the research behind supermarkets before, having worked at one for a little while. I bet the book goes into these points but just a few i remember:

Milk is almost always at the back of the store, you almost always need it so they want you to go through the entire store to get it

Like stated before end caps are there to get you to buy needless things

They've tested music to see what playing in the background would actually make people want to buy more.

Same with color, what colors make you want to spend.

posted by jmorey on April 10th 2008 at 4:43am
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...um... 'cause we need stuff?

posted by hejiranyc on April 11th 2008 at 7:01am
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I'm so much happier when I don't go into supermarkets. It's amazing how little they sell is actually food. It's depressing to see how the brainwashing has taken effect, and so many people are complacent about eating food substitutes instead of the real thing.

posted by SFGail on April 11th 2008 at 8:27am
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SFGail, I agree, and think we have all fallen under a bit of a trance about how much we really need, and what will really make us happy.

Is anyone else concerned about how many of the AT posts are about things we can buy? I love AT, designsponge, and the like (and I'm not sure I could come up with five or six non-product articles a day, either!) but I feel like most of the blog content is about things we can buy. I feel overwhelmed by all of the "stuff" sometimes and as soon as I feel that my apartment is good enough, I'm thinking of new things to buy.

Maybe it would be nice to see a little less "product" and a little more on being satisfied with your home, building community in you neighborhood, entertaining with friends, etc.

posted by a.meyer on April 14th 2008 at 8:59pm
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