The Call of the Mall

In his new book, Call of the Mall, Paco Underhill explains that the reason the rest rooms in America’s shopping malls are typically located at the end of a long, gloomy corridor is because malls are built by real estate developers, not merchants. Real estate developers, says Underhill, so resent having to dedicate any space to a non-revenue producing amenity, that they tuck it out … [ Read more ]

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

In an effort to determine why people buy, Paco Underhill and his detailed-oriented band of retail researchers have camped out in stores over the course of 20 years, dedicating their lives to the “science of shopping.” Armed with an array of video equipment, store maps, and customer-profile sheets, Underhill and his consulting firm, Envirosell, have observed over 900 aspects of interaction between shopper and store. … [ Read more ]