Shopping Science

In The Science of Shopping, Malcolm Gladwell claims that shoppers are closely watched by "retail anthropologists" to the point that the customers shopping habits and body language are broken down to a science. Paco Underhill, a retail anthropologists, as described in the article is a person who studies shoppers from  the pace that they walk to how, what, and when to catch a customers attention. Simple techniques and modifications to a store by moving merchandise from one side of the store to the other could be the difference between a potential buyer and a window shopper. Also for example by spreading a variety of all items through a grocery store forces the customer to walk through the entire store allowing the person to view all other foods and not just limiting the customer to walk in and out with the minimum items that they intended on getting. This technique works in favor of the company allowing the owner/store to maximize profits.

I would agree with Gladwell in the claim that shoppers are being closely monitered on the things they look at, the location in the store they are in, and what tends to catch the customers eye. These methods among others are used by such people as Paco Underhill who study human behavior and catorgorize shoppers into certain stereotypes to figure out what the customer finds most appealing. I myself see these manipulations put into effect on a day to day basis from the mall to small company advertisements. Until I read this article I would have not realized on how in depth a company would go and extremes that are taken to attract consumers. Although it is somewhat of a cutthroat style business its what america is built on, consumers want more. Of what you may ask? no one knows for sure but put "shining sticker" on it and you got the buyers attention.