Business Day

Published: March 19, 2010

Now on Video: Your Trip to the Mall

Paco Underhill, the author of “Why We Buy” and “Call of the Mall,” shared samples of video used by retailers with The New York Times and explained how retailers are using such technology to improve their operations. His analysis of each video clip can be found below. Mr. Underhill is the founder of Envirosell, a company that provides video surveillance services and research to major retailers in the United States and abroad. Share your thoughts. Related Article »
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Crossing the Threshold

The Issue: According to Mr. Underhill, the issue this client is having is "If I can’t get them to step in the store, I can’t make the sale."

The Analysis: “In a world where 70 percent of American women work outside the home, kids are going shopping with us. Whether they’re going to high-end jewelry stores or the grocery store, wherever, merchants will have to acknowledge that they are there.”

The son pulls away, parks himself to pout in the window, and Mom, of course, buys nothing.

Lost in the Aisles

The Issue: “Once you get a store that’s over 30,000 square feet, where the customer isn’t visiting each week like a supermarket, is being able to help with orientation.”

The Analysis: “I don’t want anyone in an aisle who doesn’t want to physically be there. Being able to help the customer navigate is a way of using the time they are willing to give you in a much more concerted manner.”

It is remarkable, the amount of time Americans spend trying to negotiate or navigate.

Out of Reach

The Issue: “The store was set up like a warehouse, and while that may have made sense at the onset, as the customer base for office product superstores changed, we found that the number of customers getting lost was significant.”

The Analysis: “By changing the physical orientation of how we presented stuff, not only were we able to boost sales but we were able to significantly boost the perception of the quality of the brand.”

The male concept of ‘stack it high and watch it fly’ doesn’t really make sense.

The Head Bump

The Issue: “We’re talking about information architecture. How am I using words, text, pictures and products to be able to get people to do the things that we want them to do?”

The Analysis: “We don’t want people shooting themselves in the foot by putting the wrong message in physically the wrong place. That’s something that’s very easy to fix.”

How do we see stuff? And is it presented at the right height?

Buried in Stamps

The Issue: “This is an engineering issue, and whoever designed this machine probably should be taken to the woodshed. It isn’t friendly.”

The Analysis: “One of the challenges we face as a culture is evaluating design. We spend billions, if not trillions of dollars, whether it's on interactives or ATMs or train stations or airports, and we spend very little time trying to figure out whether it works or how it works and whether we can do a better job next time.”

He thinks he’s buying about three bucks. He ends up spending 30 bucks.

Nowhere to Hide

The Issue: “Lingerie is a fashion accessory and often a woman’s visit to a lingerie store is visiting a temple of her own sensuality. And it's something that in general she’d rather do by herself or with a girlfriend.”

The Analysis: “If she’s with a husband or boyfriend, the husband or boyfriend should be parked outside.”

This is crying for what we call a parking lot on the outside.
By Tanzina Vega/The New York Times

Source: Paco Underhill, Envirosell