- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (July 6, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1416569952
- ISBN-13: 978-1416569954
From Booklist
Despite continued pay inequities, in 2005 young women under 30 earned more than men for the first time in U.S. history, signaling greater influence in the consumer market. Underhill, founder of Envirosell, Inc., marketer to major retailers, draws on market research and personal observations to detail the ways that women are influencing design, marketing, and service in industries from car manufacturing to architecture to banking. What do women want? Cleanliness, control, safety, and consideration. Women are behind the growth in the health-food industry, new urbanist communities that offer the geographic closeness of cities and the safety of suburbia, and contemporary kitchens with open plans and appliances geared toward convenience. Underhill notes that trends continue to favor the influence of women with the reduction of the manufacturing sector that needs muscle, greater control over women’s reproductive lives, and an education system that suits girls more than boys. Underhill offers good insights, though his tone seems a bit off sometimes, and female readers are likely to wonder how the same material might have yielded different insights from a woman writer. --Vanessa Bush
Review
"Paco Underhill is Sherlock Holmes for retailers. . .This sleuth makes shoppers view stores with more critical eyes." --Trish Donnally, San Francisco Chronicle
"The guru of retail consulting offers a wealth of insight into what makes a successful shopping experience for both buyer and seller." --Craig Ryan, The Oregonian
"The guru of retail consulting offers a wealth of insight into what makes a successful shopping experience for both buyer and seller." --Craig Ryan, The Oregonian
Product Description
PACO UNDERHILL, the author of the hugely successful Why We Buy and The Call of the Mall, reports on the growing importance of women in everybody’s marketplace—what makes a package, product, space, or service "female friendly." Underhill offers a tour of the world’s marketplace—with shrewd observations and practical applications to help everybody adapt to the new realities. As large numbers of women become steadily wealthier, more powerful, and more independent, their choices and preferences are transforming our commercial environment in a variety of important ways, from the cars we drive to the food we eat; from how we buy and furnish our homes to how we gamble, play, and use the Internet—in short, how we spend our time and money. With the same flair and humor that made his previous books universally appealing, Underhill examines how a woman’s role as homemaker has evolved into homeowner and what women look for in a home. How the home gym and home office are linked to the women’s health movement and home-based businesses. Why the refrigerator has trumped the stove as the crucial appliance. How every major hotel chain in the world has redesigned rooms and services for the female business traveler. Why some malls, appealing to women, are succeeding while others fail. What women look for online and why some retail websites, like Amazon, attract women while other sites turn them off. "The point is," writes Underhill, "while men were busy doing other things, women were becoming a major social, cultural, and economic force."And, as he warns, no business can afford to ignore their power and presence.
About the Author
Paco Underhill is the founder and CEO of Envirosell, Inc. His clients include Microsoft, McDonald's, adidas, and Estee Lauder. He is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal andThe New York Times. He lives in New York City.
