Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep on Buying No Matter What

Get ready for a wonderful survey of shopping in the USA. Lee Eisenberg, former editor in chief of Esquire magazine and executive vice president of Lands' End, explores currently relevant aspects of the sell and buy sides of shopping. Eisenberg begins at home in Chicago and invites the reader to accompany him and his wife, Linda, to find a suitable little black dress for a school fundraiser. Our field trip ranges across this country to New York and places in between. Along the way, he consults with the best, most well-known researchers and economists to seek out the rationale behind why we buy. ||Eisenberg's smooth writing style and eloquent command of English make this hands-on immersion a delightful read. Personal experiences (his wife's dress search and his son's quest for Onitsuka Tiger shoes) create a sense of comfort and camaraderie while we learn about how the sellers drop consumers into buckets based on demographics and buyers fall into one of two categories - classics or romantics. Eisenberg's wife is a classic, while his son is a romantic. There are also tips on how to select the perfect gift with some charming examples that are guaranteed to make the reader chuckle. Reviewed by Ruta Arellano

SHOPTIMISM: WHY THE AMERICAN CONSUMER WILL KEEP ON BUYING NO MATTER WHAT offers a fine survey of American consumption patterns and shopping, surveying the world of buying and selling alike and discussing pricing tricks retailers play, consumer savvy, differences between impulsive shopping and compulsive buying patterns, gift-giving and differences between how men and women shop. Both business and general collections will find this a fine survey.

This the author of the Number. This is an entertaining tour of America's love/hate affair with shopping,something that remains a true national pastime. Eisenberg chronicles the dynamics of selling and buying from almost every angle. Neither a cheerleader for consumption nor an anti-consumerist scold, he explores the vast machinery aimed at inducing us to purchase everything from hair mousse to a little black dress. He leads us, with understated humor, into the broad universe of marketing, retailing, advertising, and consumer and scientific research--an arsenal of powerful forces that combine to form what he calls "The Sell Side." You have to love editors just for their great writing style. Through the rest of the book, Eisenberg leads us through the "Buy Side" -- a journey directly into our own hearts and minds, asking among other questions: What are we really looking for when we buy? Why are we alternately excited, guilt-ridden, satisfied, disappointed, and recklessly impulsive? What are our biases, need for status, impulses to self-express, that lead us individually to buy what we buy? This book is fun, serious, well written and pokes some serious holes into some of the other books I have reviewed. It is a good gift for your children/young adults as well as yourself as we are all in there. I really liked it. Find out if you are a classic buyer or a romantic buyer? What is a Great Buy? Lots there for the retailer to learn from as well.

Shoptimism is a fun and informative book about shopping, but it is much more. As a social history of America's past several decades, it informed me of much of what I had not observed around me and was nostalgic for many things I had all but forgotten. The book explores how shopping-related phenomena influence our present and have shaped our past. For example, it recalled a memory from the mid-1960's. I was in a barbershop, waiting, reading Esquire magazines (of which Lee Eisenberg later became editor). In one, was an article called "The Ins and the Outs," in which numerous consumer goods, personalities, activities, etc. of American life were classed as "In" or "Out". In the next issue was a Letter to the Editor, which stated, in its entirety, "Re: The Ins and The Outs; what in the hell are you talking about?" If I could find the writer of that letter now, I would have him read Lee Eisenberg's book. Shoptimism is full of information and wide-ranging references that entertain, challenge, and inform. As a physician, I found fascinating the explorations into the classification of "shopaholism" as a mental disorder and the examinations of cutting edge neurobiology as related to consumerism. The cleverness of the writing, with plays on the jargon of the topics and argot of the subjects, and the conversational tone keep the reading from being heavy even though some of the topics are weighty. Mr. Eisenberg is to be congratulated upon the even-handed treatment he gives contentious subjects. He avoids polemics and does not violate the reader's trust. The book treats a trendy topic with academic thoroughness without forfeiting the fun of trendiness. If I were a marketing or communications teacher, I would recommend it to my students. As father of grown children, I will give copies to my kids for Christmas.

In the era of hyper-focused, niche marketed business texts, it's refreshing to read a book like Shoptimism which provides insight that benefits a number of different readerships, particularly those on the Sell Side (the sellers of goods and their cadres of marketers, consultants and other consumer-enablers) and those on the Buy Side (consumers in their various iterations). Aspiring retailers, salesfolk looking to better understand their constituencies, consumer psychologists and wannabe Mad Men (or Mad Women) will all benefit from the book's "Consumerism 101" stroll through the mind of the American consumer and the entities that may be pressing the buttons that spin the wheels inside that mind. Individuals who want a better understanding of why they buy and what forces may be motivating that decision-making process (or perhaps to self-diagnose an alarming lack of such process) will also be well served by this book. The author's use of personal anecdotes, whether it be a recounting of his brief tenure as a Target floorwalker, a trip to the dressing room with his wife or his observations regarding his teenage son's quest for an elusive pair of Japanese sneakers, brings some real-world perspective to a subject that many consumers take for granted or spend little time analyzing. His "come along with me" perspective when delving into the nerve center of retail anthropologist/consultant Paco Underhill or exploring the seamy underbelly of the knockoff trade is effective and informative without dipping into the realm of sensationalistic "investigative journalism." Eisenberg's conversational writing style avoids the didactic but never veers into glibness. This particular writing style - peer to peer if you will - has long been his hallmark dating back to his days as a writer for and later editor in chief of Esquire magazine. This voice works very well in addressing a subject like American consumerism where I submit we could all use a bit more education. The recently-departed Sy Syms was right -- an educated consumer IS the best customer. This book will certainly move consumers closer to that status.