Book review: Shoptimism

Authored by Lee Eisenberg in 2009 (ISBN 978-0-7432-9625-0).

This marks my second reading and first review of this entertaining title. Mr. Eisenberg penned this work during the initial stages of the Great Recession. Eisenberg felt that the "American consumer will keep on buying no matter what", in the words of the subtitle. He was only somewhat correct.

Eisenberg divides his work into two sections: 1) what sellers and marketers do to prompt buying, and 2) what motivates buyers.

A former head of marketing at Lands' End, his research included personal professional experience; interviews with executives from retailers and a advertising agencies; transparent and opaque observations of shoppers; and personal buying experience. Part of his personal professional experience includes a stint at Target for the purposes of research. He learned about loss prevention (shoplifting); treating customers nicely regardless of race, age, and disability; and where in the store the various categories of merchandise were offered. He learned nothing about individual products. When asked which blender was better he could do nothing more than read the selling points on the box.

He concludes that there is no conclusion: the sell-side folks do have their tricks, and they are sometimes successful, but not always. On the buy-side there are classic and romantic buyers, but even those labels can seldom be applied without error to any individual.

Eisenberg uses clever phrasing throughout. Classic male buyers, such as myself, are "grab-and-go" types during solitary shopping and "wait-and-whiners" when accompanying their wives. Women who buy too much are impulsive/compulsive shoppers; men who buy too much are "collectors". Retailers, marketers and advertisers struggle to discover/describe the "Unified Buy Theory".

On the "sell" side he describes the various companies that attempt to throw buyers into buckets, and what strategies buyers tend to respond to. I remember, as a law-school student in Boston, being asked to view videos for thirty minutes, for which I would be remunerated five dollars. While I watched videos consisting of, for example, orange juice containers of various brands on store shelves, video cameras pointed at my eyes recorded which containers I focused on first, presumably giving a retailer tips about the kind of packaging that will move merchandise fastest. That was quantitative research, or as Eisenberg calls it, "Quant". "Quals", on the other hand, talk to consumers about their likes and dislikes.

When a retailer wants to encourage a sale it "anchors" the price. Classic buyers for sure, and some romantic buyers as well, do not want to overpay. What, then, is a fair price? How much should a jacket cost? Buyers in general are not familiar with the costs of material, labor, shipping, finance, etc., and so need help. That help comes in the form of anchors. While at Lands' End Eisenberg observed that a jacket would be placed on a page with two other jackets (decoys). The "hero" is the jacket the retailer wants to sell. It is priced between the other two, has features the cheaper one does not and lacks features available in the high-end model. The retailer wants you to buy something and does not particularly care which. By placing the three products on the same page the consumer is presented with an idea of what these things should cost, and the mid-priced option suddenly seems reasonable.

Pricing is an art. Odd prices, such as $4.78, tend to be viewed as bargains. All of us are familiar with prices that end in nines; the nine signifies bargain. Zero signifies quality. Hence prices at upscale restaurants are even dollar amounts; at McDonald's they end in a nine.

There is no price better than free, but why is that. What difference does it matter if it costs one penny. The answer is that risk inheres with all buying: you might be disappointed, and classic/tightwad buyers feel this disappointment more acutely than romantic spendthrifts. A price of zero shouts "no pain here!"

My Wife's Foot, Part II

It is now 46 days since Julia broke her foot. The diagnosis was Lisfranc with a total of three breaks. Ligaments were damaged, but will heal, we are told. Cartilage was damaged and will not heal and could cause problems down the road. The likelihood of a "good" outcome is "good", in the words of the surgeon. An excellent outcome is unlikely and, in any event, it will be a full year before Julia returns to something resembling normal. After just six weeks of immobility the muscles in her right calf have shrunk considerably.

She had surgery one week after the break. Julia feared not waking from the anesthesia. The young, fit anesthesiologist seemed confident, which I have learned means nothing, and viewed answering Julia's questions as a necessary evil. The surgeon marked Julia's right foot with his initials to verify, 1) he was the one doing the surgery, and 2) it was the right foot that needed it. After surgery she spent an hour in a recovery room and then the evening in a private room. That stay was optional, but she did not feel like going home and she enjoyed the attentions of two nurses who had no other patients to look after. The anesthesiologist applied a "block" to her leg that (by design) made her unable to feel her foot for about 24 hours after the surgery. She took oxycodone (generic version) for pain as sparingly as possible, as one side effect for her (and some others) was constipation.

The surgeon inserted three screws and three pins (closeup). Those pins will come out in a couple of weeks, apparently he just pulls them out, no anesthesia or pain-killers necessary. There is some debate among the medical community about whether the screws should be removed. They provide additional stability, but restrict movement, and have a tendency to wiggle out of position over time. Removal involves anesthesia.

Julia traveled to Ottawa with us last week. She had asked the surgeon what he thought of the risks of blood clots at airplane altitude. He said he could not guarantee she would not form blood clots; the risk is reportedly higher; what would keep him from flying is the inconvenience that comes with all flights coupled with being in a cast. The connections
were horrible and Julia did not die from a blood clot.

Through this process Julia has had five casts applied to her foot:
1) The emergency room.
2) An immense white one after surgery.
3) A blue one after the first post-op X-ray.
4) A green one after the second post-op inspection.
5) An American flag.