Rating: 
Summary: Observe, Observe and Observe......
Review: My knowledge in marketing and retail design is minimal. In this regard, this book is rated 4, but the knowledgeable familiar with this field may find this book 2 stars. The book points out (at least) three main points, which would take three paragraphs and the rest of the contents are filled with the relevant examples. However, the first and last chapters are self-admiration, so skip these. The author argues the main points based on observational studies in real life retail settings. But he won't give the trick and tool in conducting an observational research some practitioners may want to expect out of the book. For that, look elsewhere. However, for new practitioners, this book is worth reading and serves to get started doing their own observational research using their own creativity on how to design and measure the observation. The title of this book should be something like "Designing a retail environment and merchandising packages to boost a profit - three main points and examples from observational studies".
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully Useful
Review: As a business student writing a 20-page thesis on product packaging, I picked up this book as a source of insight on the effects of packaging on consumers. What I found was pleasing; a book that not only told me what I needed to know but also gave me an entertaining education in Marketing that few classes at my school have paralleled. Students are forced to read incessantly, but this book was a pleasure to read, and I was not surprised to find out that many professors in the Marketing department already had it. I would consider this book a must-read for anyone involved in Marketing activities.
Rating: 
Summary: A 'Read' for Retailers
Review: I read Mr. Underhill's book and must admit that I could identify with many of his suggestions and observations, and were I a brick-and-mortar retailer, I would find this book indispensable. The book's value is derived primarily from the mindset created during reading ("watch your customer, and try to understand his motivations and challenges in your store"), rather than from the value of the specific observations themselves ("aging baby boomers have eyesight that is deteriorating so make your type larger on product packaging"). If you are interested or work in retailing, you will likely find the methodology interesting, the observations useful at times, and will no doubt find something useful to implement. If you are a large retailer, it may even inspire you to hire the author's company to study your stores and provide insight and recommendations on how to improve your business. The chapter devoted to the Internet is dated, but primarily because of the speed at which the Internet and its retailers are moving. With several years' experience in a web analytics company, I can say that the online retailers have much better and more accurate information about shoppers' behavior, and on the whole, are improving the overall shopping experience very rapidly as a result. Reading about real world shopping behavior was interesting because of my position in assisting very large retailers study their online customers. The book will appeal primarily to retailers, or those interested in the behavior of the shopping public. Personally, as a consumer, I wish every retailer and product manufacturer would read this and make my life easier. I have thought many of the same things that Mr. Underhill suggests for retailers, such as "give me a chair to sit in while my wife finishes her shopping".
Rating:
Summary: Why not sell more..
Review: Have been looking long for a book describing how to grab the attention of the retail-consumer. Mr. Underhills book gave me quite some new thoughts and I am pretty sure that we can tripple the sales in our biggest stores by using his rules...And that might actually move me up in the shopping hiarchi.
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational and Entertaining
Review: I don't typically work with clients who have anything to do with retail, nor am I likely to be opening a retail store myself. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Underhill's book for the following reasons: 1. The approach is useful to anyone in any field: Don't make decisions based on assumptions, question what you think you understand, and think from the point of view of the customer. 2. It's fun reading. He includes a lot of anecdotes which made me laugh out loud (rare in a business book, I think). Even where he does resort to generalizations, you hear it coming from his years of experience in the field and I, at least, was willing to forgive him. A pretty great read, in total.
Rating:
Summary: Worth it for the first 50 pages
Review: Underhill's anthropological approach brings a lot to the study of retail environments and how we interact with them. In the first 50 pages alone, he lays out scores of great nuggets from his decades of retail research and consulting, some obvious (provide chairs for shoppers' companions, put more than just sizes 2, 4, and 6 on the rack for womens' clothes) and some less so (signage in drug stores should be geared to people walking from the back of the store to the front, etc.). Unfortunately, in later chapters the book strays from hard data and solid observation to cliche generalizations. The worst offenders are the chapters on women and on kids, where there is definitely a lot to be said, but where Underhill comes up short. Nonetheless, I find myself studying every Starbucks and clothing store I walk into. The examples Underhill gives, and the framework he constructs for analyzing the retail environment, should be instilled into the head of anyone who runs a facility open to the general public. And I'm not just talking stores -- libraries, airports, etc. could learn a lot from this book!
Rating: 
Summary: A day in the life of Paco Underhill
Review: The teacher in a marketing class that I'm taking provided us a list of possible books to review. Having often been accused by my spouse of having poor shopping habits, I thought that "Why We Buy" might provide some personal insight. Although there were some interesting anecdotes in "Why We Buy", two factors lead me to conclude that this book was of little personal value.
The first factor lead diminished the value of this book to me was that, while the subjects touched upon and the anecdotes given were interesting, the treatment is rather cursory and does not deal with the matter of causality (i.e., "why" we buy!) Any insights I gained were as the result of my own ruminations and reflections on the subject. The book itself didn't provoke these insights-it may as well have just said, "Think about how you shop," and left it at that. A couple of other reviewers have come to the same conclusion. The second factor is that, on a professional level, this book was not useful to me as it deals with a paradigm separate from that in which I operate. My position in managing software development projects for large organizations is far removed from the spatial concerns (e.g. tie-rack placement) that dominate the retail world. Another choice of book might have provided more professional enrichment-as would be the case for any individual who is not involved in the sale of retail goods. In terms of content, there is quite a bit about how Mr. Underhill got started in the business of studying shoppers, how "trackers" (people who follow shoppers) are recruited and perform their duties, and how Mr. Underhill's firm often gets to say to clients, "I told you so." We are treated to 70% ego, and 30% information on shopper behavior. It quite surprising that the purchase of this book does not entitle one to membership in the Paco Underhill fan club-though any really insightful information about Mr. Underhill (such as the origin of his unusual name) is absent. Although in later chapters that deal with particular segments of the population (e.g. senior citizens, kids) there is some interesting trivia on habits of these buyers, it is more likely that your bookmark will find its final resting place around page 35. If you are especially adept at wading through the pointless, "Why We Buy" contains *some* interesting trivia about shopper behavior. Despite the title, there is no examination of causality, very little insight, and (besides a methodical approach) very little science. Furthermore, anyone not directly involved in retail will find little in the way of professional interesting. Unless you are interested in how Paco Underhill came into his profession, how he spends his days, and what conclusions he has arrived at, I cannot recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: Strong title and little substance. An example of the uneasy quality of reasoning on display in this book: People buy more - the author has found out via his in -store research - when they spend more time at the store, so keep them longer at your store. Perhaps, but why there is no attempt to clarify if and how the above actually is a causal relation, no attempt to prove that it is not a simple co-relation or even a casual effect though of the opposite kind to that suggested by the author i.e. he/she who buys more needs more time at store and not the other way around (wouldn't we expect people who buy to spend more time at a store as they need to try the clothes compared to people who just do some window shopping ?)
Rating:
Summary: Read better books. Don't waste your time!
Review: I am a college student studying psychology & urban studies. When I picked up this book, I thought it would be a perfect read for me--it's a (self-proclaimed) study of "urban anthropology" and also is about shopping, a necessity of virtually every urban citizen. A nice break from the heavier books required for class. I was taken in by the shiny cover and largely titled "WHY WE BUY: The Science of Shopping." Thinking that the author might actually make an attempt to answer his question, why we buy, I longed for the hour I lost reading about anecdotal evidence (which, by the way, didn't even attempt to find causal relationships in why people might buy a certain object) and the author's egotistical musings on proving wrong his clients. (See p. 34-5 for an example of this egotism if you need proof.) In sum, this book is not worth the $15 cover price unless you care to read about how Mr. Underhill told a department store manager to move the ties from a display near the entrance/exit to a place slightly farther away, and how he named this "phenomenon" the "butt-brush factor." It is boring, unintellectual reading. There is no science, no causal evidence. Mr. Underhill doesn't take into account that people often shop differently--I will be more likely to make an impulse buy if I've thought of purchasing the object before I see it in the store. Is that the same as every college student? No. These personal differences, anything in the mind of the shopper, and issues important to the subject (i.e. socioeconomic status, marital status, race, preference, etc.) are left undiscussed. To me, that's the first step in trying to discover "why we buy."
Rating:
Summary: Fun and enlightening.
Review: Real-life examples are what sets "Why we buy" apart from other marketing books. McDonald's, Starbucks, etc. Of course if you are a retailer, this book is a must: Paco Underhill demonstrates how even a few tweaks in your layout or merchandising can have dramatic results on your bottom line. His recap of retail changes he recommended, and the results, are valuable for any place-based marketing effort: from employee marketing to trade shows.
Underhill also brings unexpected joy with his breezy writing style. This is truly a good read, and will also give you lots of cocktail party tidbits.
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