• Why We Buy, Updated and Revised Edition

  • The Science of Shopping
  • By: Paco Underhill
  • Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
  • Length: 12 hrs
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (328 ratings)

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Why We Buy, Updated and Revised Edition  By  cover art

Why We Buy, Updated and Revised Edition

By: Paco Underhill
Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
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Publisher's summary

Revolutionary retail guru Paco Underhill is back with a completely revised edition of his classic, witty, best-selling book on our ever-evolving consumer culture—full of fresh observations and important lessons from the cutting edge of retail, which is taking place in the world’s emerging markets. New material includes:

  • The latest trends in online retail—what retailers are doing right and what they’re doing wrong—and how nearly every Internet retailer from iTunes to Amazon can drastically improve how it serves its customers.
  • A guided tour of the most innovative stores, malls, and retail environments around the world—almost all of which are springing up in countries where prosperity is new. An enormous indoor ski slope attracts shoppers to a mall in Dubai; an uber luxurious São Paulo department store provides its customers with personal shoppers; a mall in South Africa has a wave pool for surfing.

The new Why We Buy is an essential guide—it offers advice on how to keep your changing customers and entice new and eager ones.

©1999 2000, 2009 by Obat, Inc. (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“At last, here is a book that gives this underrated skill the respect it deserves.” ( New York Times)

What listeners say about Why We Buy, Updated and Revised Edition

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Author has knowledge but poor writing skills

The books to me seems more like a pitch to potential companies who may like to use their services. Through out the book they shared tons of examples about how retailers were doing something or the other wrong and when they came in they fixed it right. They have loads of experience etc etc. Of course they also put in very subtly that technology and lots of inexperienced companies cannot deliver what they can do as they were the first one in this field.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • R
  • 09-08-17

Relevant to retail stores, not to Ecommerce

If you do retail in a brick and mortar store, this is a great book. If you do Ecommerce only, this book doesn't have much to offer.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Should have read this in college

If you could sum up Why We Buy, Updated and Revised Edition in three words, what would they be?

Here's My Money

Any additional comments?

Reviewing these topics that I learned in college was a nice refresher. For anyone who has not been trained in retail, this is a great listen as to why money is flying from our pockets.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

80% outdated.

The content and views of the author are very outdated. Definitely not suited for post 2010.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

0 value for internet world

What would have made Why We Buy, Updated and Revised Edition better?

99% of the book is about retail store. 1% about internet commerce.

What could Paco Underhill have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

99% of the book is about retail store. 1% about internet commerce.

How could the performance have been better?

99% of the book is about retail store. 1% about internet commerce.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Why We Buy, Updated and Revised Edition?

99% of the book is about retail store. 1% about internet commerce.

Any additional comments?

99% of the book is about retail store. 1% about internet commerce.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Blatant self-advertisement with no substance

Forced myself into the Chapter 2 hoping that it can't be that bad for a 4 stars rated book, but no luck. An endless stream of self-praising and self-advertisement, detailed explanation of why author's services are so superior to the competitors and never ending list of accolades. In a book titled "Why we buy" there was exactly zero useful insights on the "Why" part. So far it was only about "How my company can observe in every tiny detail HOW they buy" with a couple of examples that if store's management is brain dead - well yeah, a mere observation of what floor space is crowded can lead you to some insights. Refunded.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Not a great read

A very poor read as the writer was more interested in personal appeasement than articulating the subject at hand.
Very pushy on views that are obsolete in a bid to maintain niche market and position self as an authority.
I never loose with any book I read but this was a challenge trying to take away some points but I did.

Don't get too excited when you buy this book, not much might be learned except listening to deliberate mention of big name companies to justify industry position

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great, insightful book, but could do with an update

This is a really book that gives a great insight into human nature. Oh, and shopping.
My only reservation is that feels about 10 years out of date, particularly on the topics of technology and the internet and on the gender defined habits of men and women.
In both cases, Paco acknowledges that these things are changing, but in the time since this book was last updated (2009ish?) it feels like an awful lot has changed.
Otherwise, however, this book is well pitched at the interested amateur and the style is relatively light and playful, while retaining it's insightfulness!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

"HOW" we buy, not "WHY" we buy.

Great if you want to dive on how people buy but the title is not accurate. There is no WHY but a great description on the specific dynamics that happen on the point of sale

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Oudated and self promoting

I read the book in 2016 and found it outdated on many subjects and grossly off the mark on the impact the web would have on buying.
I also found somewhat disturbing the self promotion in which the author indulges, from time to time.

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1 person found this helpful