Malcom Gladwell The Science Of Shopping
“‘My mother says that I’m the best-paid spy in America,’ he told me. He laughed, but he wasn’t entirely joking” (Gladwell 98). The ‘he’ referred to is retail anthropologist and urban geographer, Paco Underhill. In “ The Science of Shopping” by Malcom Gladwell, Gladwell gets an inside look on the specific reasonings of why each store is set up the way that it is. There is a true science to how every single shopping location displays it’s products. Concisely, if they were to stray from this science at all, their business would most likely begin to suffer. Something that a lot of people are probably unaware of is the fact that many shop managers have to hire consultants, such as Paco, in order for their stores to become successful. It is only because of people with the natural curiosity of why people shop the way that they do, that Paco is able to help struggling businesses. …show more content…
Although I have known for many years that stores did not place things randomly, I was completely unaware that there are people whose specific job is to study a particular store and figure out where to place certain products to allow for the store to become more successful. Some people may argue that this science is a waste of time and money because when they go shopping, they are there for one purpose only and no matter how the items are placed throughout, it will not influence their purchase. I, however, am not one of those people. I would agree that the science of shopping is vital in a successful business. I have come to this conclusion due to various facts that I have read in Gladwell’s
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The Science Of Shopping Summary
1124 Words | 5 PagesThe article “The Science of Shopping” written by New Yorker staff writer Malcom Gladwell, is based on retail anthropologist and urban geographer Paco Underhill. Underhill studies the shopping characteristics through frequently watched surveillance tapes to help store managers improve the setup of their goods and services. Through those footages he evaluated his observations and the statistics to help define his theories with the purpose to make sellers conform to the desires of the shoppers. Underhill, an insightful and revolutionary man, provides a view of science to displaying merchandise and creates a positive experience for both the buyer and seller. I agree that Underhill’s scientific theories; the Invariant Right, Decompression
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