Rating: 
Summary: Almost enough material for a magazine article
Review: Paco Underhill, with the help of a good editor, could have stretched this material to make an interesting article on selling. Then we only would have had to concern ourselves with the fact that the title is buying. Instead, he chose to repeat himself endlessly and to wander aimlessly until the magical number of pages were written that could be called a book. Hopefully he is better at researching the subject of buying than he is at writing about it.
Rating:
Summary: Don Norman meets brick and mortar
Review: The approach taken in the book is either shallow or insidious. On the shallow side, it looks like Envirosell tries to remove barriers in the shopping experience;it is an interface approach to the problem. Rather than trying enhance the customer experience, the major concern of Envirosell seems to be modifying unarticulated barriers without radically improving the service.Unlike Norman who was trying to improve the design for the user, Underhill is trying to improve the design simply to sell more for the store owner. The shopper/user experience and satisfaction is mostly irrelevant, after all they are not paying for his services. Yet the customer experience is crucial. Helping the shopper and the client uncover unarticulated needs and bring them into the shopping experience would ensure happy shoppers and more profits for the client. The book rings like a 250 page infomercial for Envirosell and unlike infomercials on TV, we are actually stupid enough to pay for this one,
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed and Misleading
Review: Did I miss something?Call me crazy, I thought this book was to be about "Why We Buy". I think I can count about two pages of gender specific characteristics on purchasing, otherwise this book was anecdote after anecdote of "stupid" things retailers do. The book's title was extremely misleading. Perhaps "How to Sell" would have been more appropriate. "How to Sell" and "Why We Buy" are two totally different animals. And what's with our author telling us, time and time again, the simple solution to those "stupid" retailer mistakes while offering no quantitative results to back up his suggestions (which is kind of interesting based on the fact that's what he does for a living). Overall, I feel cheated because our author has insight and knowledge to share that he simple chooses not to. I guess I'll have to hire Envirosell to get those answers I thought would be in the book. But then again, that's probably why he wrote the book.
Rating: 
Summary: It will change the way you shop!
Review: Very interesting. Shoppers who read this book will be surprised at the detail and science involved in every aspect of retail. And you thought you shopped alone. This book should be required reading for anyone entering the retail workplace.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved every page of it !
Review: As a small retailer I thought it would be handy to have some clues about what's going on in the world of retailing. Reading the book, I came across some very familiar things I recognized from my store, and I came across situations that I started using in my store. It is a recommendation to those of you starting up your own bussiness in retailing.
Rating:
Summary: #1 Book On Our Recommended Reading List
Review: This review is from The Consumer Trends Institute. Underhill's book is at the top of our recommended summer reading list for executives in the retail and consumer products industry. Underhill creatively utilizes his anthropology background to observe consumers while they are engaged in shopping. His approach is refreshing and original: the bottom line is that merchants must focus on the consumer and the consumer's total experience from the parking lot to the home page. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent and fun reference for retail consumer traits.
Review: Paco Underhill's observations and commentary regarding consumer behaviour are a fun and insightful read. Underhill explores how we react to our environment and how retailers do or do not respond. While very interesting and appropriate for physical retailers, Underhill's comments apply extremely well to the growing number of stores on the Internet. Oftentimes web sites ignore the physical limitations and tendencies of web surfers and fail to make the on-line experience a selling experience. "Why We Buy" is a must read for anyone designing a commerce enabled web site and interested in making Internet shopping a successful extension of retail convenience.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, certainly, but ....
Review: On the plus side, this book had alot of fascinating observations about a whole field of study about which I previously didn't really know even existed, much less had given any thought to. In addition, next time I go shopping, I will probably stop and consider the extent to which some of the author's recommendations have (or have not) been implemented. On the other hand, the book seemed much too long to me, and rather than hoping it wouldn't end, I more or less had the opposite reaction: after awhile, I found myself skimming over quite a few paragraphs, because I felt that the interesting points could have been stated in a more concise way. Repetitiveness was a problem too. Finally, it seemed as if the majority of the author's recommendations could be summed up as: Give the shopper lots of elbow room (e.g. for strollers, to avoid the butt-brush effect, etc.), and put all of the merchandise within easy reach (no stooping for older people, no unneeded reaching for children, etc.). This sounds fine in theory, but it would seem that, in practice, the author is effectively suggesting that in order to accomplish the above two goals, all retailers should either (1) double the size of their leasehold space, or (2) reduce the amount of their inventory in half. I doubt that either of these options would be feasible for most retailers, and that the reason that some of them don't follow the author's recommendations to the letter is not because they are unaware of them, or even disagree with them, but simply because neither of the above solutions would be considered feasible.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: I absolutely devoured this book. His advice was helpful, interesting, authoritative, and thought-provoking. Underhill changes the way you look at the retail experience, and he forces anyone even tangentially involved in putting products into consumers hands to rethink how they've been doing it. Forget gut feelings when it comes to what makes for the best packaging. Forget conventional wisdom and tradition when it comes to placement. Underhill shows you what does work well and, more important, gives you the courage to question the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Most informative book on the retail shopping experience.
Review: If you are interested in placing your merchandise, or message in front of the retail consumer with maximum impact, this book will open the door to a new way of thinking for you. You'll learn more from this book in a few hours, than you will in wasting a whole semester sitting in most college retail marketing classes.
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