Why We Shop - by Jim Pooler (Hardcover)

About the Book

Shopping is one of the most challenging and rewarding human activities. Pooler offers a captivating exploration of the emotional and psychological dimensions of shopping. What drives shoppers in various situations? Why do we shop the way we do? Why do people go to malls, boutiques, and Web sites with their credit cards in hand, despite not knowing what it is they're looking for? This book answers such questions, taking an incisive look at how shopping and shoppers have changed in recent years.

For those in retailing and marketing, this guide to the fickle consumer's mindset offers concrete and practical advice on modern shopping behavior, along with important insights into the shopping psyche. Comprehending why people shop as they do is a daunting challenge for today's retailer. For example, why do people shop for bargain groceries yet purchase the latest luxury-model SUV? Why do people feel justified in splurging for Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries, but suffer guilt from over-spending at other times of the year? Is clothes-shopping all about price and practicality, or is it more about emotional reward and psychological needs? Is the excitement in the quest or the acquisition? Why is there such a thing as a morning-after urge to return among certain shoppers, while others refuse to return an item even if it's flawed or doesn't fit? Pooler probes to the heart of today's complex shopper, providing valuable insights for retailers, advertisers, marketers, and consumers.

Book Synopsis

Shopping is one of the most challenging and rewarding human activities. Pooler offers a captivating exploration of the emotional and psychological dimensions of shopping. What drives shoppers in various situations? Why do we shop the way we do? Why do people go to malls, boutiques, and Web sites with their credit cards in hand, despite not knowing what it is they're looking for? This book answers such questions, taking an incisive look at how shopping and shoppers have changed in recent years.

For those in retailing and marketing, this guide to the fickle consumer's mindset offers concrete and practical advice on modern shopping behavior, along with important insights into the shopping psyche. Comprehending why people shop as they do is a daunting challenge for today's retailer. For example, why do people shop for bargain groceries yet purchase the latest luxury-model SUV? Why do people feel justified in splurging for Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries, but suffer guilt from over-spending at other times of the year? Is clothes-shopping all about price and practicality, or is it more about emotional reward and psychological needs? Is the excitement in the quest or the acquisition? Why is there such a thing as a morning-after urge to return among certain shoppers, while others refuse to return an item even if it's flawed or doesn't fit? Pooler probes to the heart of today's complex shopper, providing valuable insights for retailers, advertisers, marketers, and consumers.

Review Quotes

"A complete guide to the complexities of shopping in the 21st century. With insight and clarity, Jim Pooler maps out a new consumer world where emotions now rule and people shop for the mind, psyche, and soul."-Marilyn Halter Department of History, Boston University

"This is a book about the religion of shopping and rituals of acquisition. Detailed and thoughtful."-Paco Underhill Managing Director, Envirosell and author of Why We Buy

?Pooler shines a spotlight on consumers' shopping habits as he looks at the psychological and social needs behind people's urge to splurge. Putting aside the "old-fashioned" idea of people shopping for practical reasons or to fill basic needs, Pooler notes that modern shoppers buy things to reward themselves, make statements, boost self-esteem, affirm their psyches, and more....This is a well-organized and insightful volume. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate and graduate marketing students, faculty, and practitioners.?-Choice

"Pooler shines a spotlight on consumers' shopping habits as he looks at the psychological and social needs behind people's urge to splurge. Putting aside the "old-fashioned" idea of people shopping for practical reasons or to fill basic needs, Pooler notes that modern shoppers buy things to reward themselves, make statements, boost self-esteem, affirm their psyches, and more....This is a well-organized and insightful volume. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate and graduate marketing students, faculty, and practitioners."-Choice

About the Author

JIM POOLER is Professor of Urban and Population Geography at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An urban geographer and retail demographer, he views shopping as a multidisciplinary subject that incorporates elements from psychology, marketing, business, economics, geography, sociology, and anthropology.