Amazon.com
Paco Underhill has a genius for retail. As a follow-up to the bestseller Why We Buy, he has written an arch entertaining ethnography of the shopping mall. Energized by two dripping cinnabons, Underhill guides readers on a walking tour to encounter senior mall walkers, teen jean and hoodie shoppers, shoe fetishists, six second sales greeters, kiosk vendors and food court diners.
He nails our ambivalence about indoor shopping saying, "the mall, like television, is an easy American target for self-loathing. We look at the mall and wonder: is this the best we could do?" He gets the devil in the details with wonderful riffs about global malls, parking spaces, the "free" gift with cosmetics, retail tribalism (Nordstrom versus Ann Taylor, Pac Sun versus Abercrombie) and why CD and bookstores have returned to city streets. But Underhill doesn't whine. When he critiques multiplex theatres, raunchy bathrooms or the absence of coatrooms, he also offers witty suggestions. For example, how to turn a well-appointed restroom into a profit center.
Underhill is convinced that online shopping and fatigued boomer shoppers are leading to the "post-mall era." This kind of prediction makes The Call of the Mall a great read. It is a smart, observant meditation--one that suggests the past and the future of our shopping culture. --Barbara Mackoff
Book Description
Paco Underhill, the Margaret Mead of shopping and author of the huge international bestseller Why We Buy, now takes us to the mall, a place every American has experienced and has an opinion about. The result is a bright, ironic, funny, and shrewd portrait of the mall -- America's gift to personal consumption, its most powerful icon of global commercial muscle, the once new and now aging national town square, the place where we convene in our leisure time.
It's about the shopping mall as an exemplar of our commercial and social culture, the place where our young people have their first taste of social freedom and where the rest of us compare notes. Call of the Mall examines how we use the mall, what it means, why it works when it does, and why it sometimes doesn't.
Download Description
"The author of the international bestseller Why We Buy -- praised by The New York Times as ""a book that gives this underrated skill the respect it deserves"" -- now takes us to the mall, a place every American has experienced and has an opinion about. Paco Underhill, the Margaret Mead of shopping, has run hundreds of research assignments in malls across the country (and in Tokyo and European capitals). He has visited them, observed his fellow mall-ers, looked long and hard for his car in mammoth parking lots, chatted up the staffers, gone hunting for jeans with adolescent girls and anniversary shopping with guys. The result is a bright, ironic, funny, and shrewd portrait of the mall -- America's gift to personal consumption, its most powerful icon of global commercial muscle, the once new and now aging national town square, the place where we convene in our leisure time. Call of the Mall is about desire and buying lingerie, about why the same camel hair coat costs twice as much in the women's department as it does in the boys'. It's about why shoes, handbags, and cosmetics are clustered, why Cartier is next to cut-rate, and why the movie theater is hard to find. It's about the shopping mall as an exemplar of our commercial and social culture, the place where our young people have their first taste of social freedom, and where the rest of us compare notes. Call of the Mall examines how we use the mall, what it means, why it works when it does, and why it sometimes doesn't. Visiting the mall with Paco Underhill is a surprising and insightful tour through the American crossroads. Why We Buy changed the way we watch ourselves shop. Call of the Mall will deepen our understanding of how we live, work, play, and spend."
Customer Reviews:
Somewhat engaging but not very informative .......2006-12-04
"The Call of the Mall" is a book that is sure to please the "minority" of Americans who do not favor the big box/stripmall/fashion mall culture of mainstream America. I am among that growing group of people seeking more sustainable, more humane geographical models of existing and getting along with one another. As an introduction to this notion, "Call of the Mall" is indeed "engaging" as another reviewed described it. However, it does not really address the underlying WHYS of the physical structure of modern America, nor does it propose realistic solutions.
Insider Tour of Malls.......2006-11-02
Underhill meanders through the mall voicing his observations aloud. It feels like an informal tour, but his knowledge of shoppers and retailers is based on the indepth study that has consumed his adult life.
Along the way, he entertains us with descriptions of avid women shoppers, men's discomfort in the mall setting and how teens and seniors interact with malls. The reader gains new insight into his/her own behavior while shopping and in the way the stores lure the buyer.
He touches on international malls, as well as the typical American mall. He exposes their flaws, suggests changes, and praises what works.
I kept feeling that there must be more to tell, as the effect is of a behind-the-scenes, but not all-the-secrets tour.
Insider Tour of Malls.......2006-08-19
Underhill meanders through the mall voicing his observations aloud. It feels like an informal tour, but his knowledge of shoppers and retailers is based on the indepth study that has consumed his adult life.
Along the way, he entertains us with descriptions of avid women shoppers, men's discomfort in the mall setting and how teens and seniors interact with malls. The reader gains new insight into his/her own behavior while shopping and in the way the stores lure the buyer.
He touches on international malls, as well as the typical American mall. He exposes their flaws, suggests changes, and praises what works.
I kept feeling that there must be more to tell, as the effect is of a behind-the-scenes, but not all-the-secrets tour.
Never be a naive shopper again!.......2006-07-19
I love this book. It opened my eyes to all the tricks of the trade: how stores lay out their merchandise to attract buyers, secret shoppers, shopping spies, etc. I now look for end-cap specials, pricing on the low shelves, perimeter shopping, etc. Did you know that stores hire shopping evaluators to follow customers around, recording what they touch, pick up, put in their baskets? I have now spotted several that I would have missed before. I also purchased Underhill's other book, Call of the Mall, although I wouldn't rate it quite as highly as this one. If you are at all interested in the subject of why people buy, then you need to read this book.
A retailing must have!.......2006-07-17
Call of the Mall by Paco Underhill is an excellently written work that explores the geography of mall usage as well as a bit of a history of suburban and urban malls. First off, I was caught by the writing style as it was easy to follow and yet full of good information. Paco explores everything from mall security to food courts to discount jewelry stores being next to Tiffany's. He goes into analyzing the shopping habits of men, women, and teenage girls. He talks about the barrier between the mall and store and how to entice customers inside. All in all, this is a must have for any retail person.
I am into retail but from the web side of things and really enjoyed trying to make connections into that space. It is a little more limited in that aspect but still a good mental exercise. For instance, it is known that as people stay in the mall for a longer period of time they are more and more likely to buy things which is why you have the food court, rock climbing, and movie theatres. Imagine in the web world on ebay where you could have flash games that would allow you to stay and watch your auctions while killing time. Ebay could then put up other similar auctions to the ones you are watching...
Either way, this is a must have for retailers and a fun read for hobby anthropologists.
Book Description
Provides the nuts-and-bolts material to begin designing a retail or mixed-use facility.
* Features project photographs, diagrams and floor plans, and sections and details.
* Provides need-to-know information on such essential topics as consensus-based decision making, site selection, renovation, code compliance, and more.
Order your copy today!
Book Description
Brandscaping - die Gestaltung dreidimensionaler Markenwelten wird mehr und mehr zu einem Thema für die Architektur von Verkaufsflächen. Auf die Herausforderung von E-commerce und globalisiertem Wettbewerb reagieren Unternehmen mit komplexen Konzepten, die den Markenmythos, die Begegnung mit dem Produkt als Objekt der Begierde, im Sinne umfassender prägender Raumerlebnisse inszenieren. Neueste Technologien und Anleihen bei der Unterhaltungsindustrie sind Elemente dieser real erfahrbaren Markenlandschaften, die auf emotionale Qualitäten setzen und vom standardisierten Shop-System bis zum monumentalen Themenpark reichen. "Brandscaping" stellt fünfzehn internationale Projekte aus Architektur und Innenarchitektur vor, darunter Niketown London, City-Mall Sevens Düsseldorf, BMW-Themenpark München, Showroom Qiora New York, Shop-Konzepte Superga (Italien) und Migros (Schweiz). Das Buch dokumentiert ferner eine Workshop-Diskussion zwischen den für diese Projekte verantwortlichen Imagedesignern und Architekten.
Amazon.com
Pico Iyer's book of essays about international locales contends that the modern world-scurrying citizen, pushed by business demands or political migrations, can easily lose both roots and sense of home. Airports have morphed into cities where scores of languages are spoken, thousands work, and millions travel through mazed villages of McDonalds, massage parlors, and self-help groups that twist along for miles; the Dallas-Fort Worth airport alone grabs more space than Manhattan. And city life is no different: Iyer's apartment building also houses an immigration office, banks, four cinemas, dozens of restaurants and nearly 100 boutiques; the technologically plugged-in businessman with whom he stays has five phones across the world, a dozen international bank accounts, and travels more than a pilot.
Whether in Toronto--where in larger schools nearly 80 languages may be heard--London, or at the Olympics in Atlanta, Iyer witnesses the overlapping of hundreds of heterogeneous cultures, often pushed by corporate concerns toward commercial homogeneity and powered by technology that offers an office in the sky. The picture painted by Iyer--himself a confused and well-traveled multicultural citizen--is extreme, sci-fi, and futuristic even though set in the present: a global village turned spinning metropolis, with so many fragments set loose in its gyrations that it threatens to explode the minds of its residents. But even this shell-shocked world traveler finds peace, concluding that a simpler life may be a richer one and that home is simply where the frazzled mind decides it will be. In an era when new frontiers open monthly, when frequent flyer miles serve as currency, and constant change may be a lifestyle demand, Iyer's frantic words and dizzying images may prove as prophetic as Alvin Toffler's Future Shock. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
From the acclaimed author of
Video Nights in Kathmandu comes this intriguing new book that deciphers the cultural ramifications of globalization and the rising tide of worldwide displacement.
Beginning in Los Angeles International Airport, where town life?shops, services, sociability?is available without a town, Pico Iyer takes us on a tour of the transnational village our world has become. From Hong Kong, where people actually live in self-contained hotels, to Atlanta's Olympic Village, which seems to inadvertently commemorate a sort of corporate universalism, to Japan, where in the midst of alien surfaces his apartment building is called "The Memphis," Iyer ponders what the word "home" can possibly mean in a world whose face is blurred by its cultural fusion and its alarmingly rapid rate of change.
Customer Reviews:
Fun Topic .......2005-12-27
A fun topic with only partial in depth exploration. A change from Pico Iyers other true travel stories, this book explores the actual travler themself. For anyone who has spend time actually living in other cultures, the book will hit home on some tangent. Fun read but not as good as some of Pico Iyer's other reads.
A little too much?.......2003-02-22
Iyer is an entertaining writer. That's why I read him. This book, although not excellent, is good (I like "The Lady and the Monk" better though). I really enjoyed the last chapter of the book about his experiences as a foreigner in Japan. I could relate because I too, lived as a foreigner in Japan. But the remainder of the book came across to me as a little bit too much. In other words - exaggerated and overdone. But this is not a worthless book. It's merit comes in remembering that these are the author's ideas and experiences - not everyone else's.
Smart, humane , edgy and I couldn't stop reading.......2002-07-24
I love this book. I'm sending it to all my relatives who, like the author, are modern post-ethnics with no true sense of ethnic allegiance. His insights are quite droll: a person with no deep national loyalty may be staunchly loyal to one airline. And some huge portion of all airmiles are earned on the ground! He captures the absurd, the sad, the hopeful aspects of being a bourgeois post-ethnic in today's climate. I take my hat off to this man for writing a book that can be said to speak for an entire generation. That may sound audacious but those are the feelings he inspires in one reader! The book is not only about travel. You can be a reluctant traveller (like me) and still enjoy his narrative.
The great thing about this book -- it can be read out of order. I read the Toronto chapter first. I read the Empire chapter next. I read the first chapter last. It works. This is a book I will re-read. It has some errors, which other reviews here have rightly pointed out, but in total it's a...good read and its insights are substantial.
Struck by Disconnect - Customer v. Editorial Reviews.......2001-12-07
I had already begun reading this book (have read only a/b the first 50 pages), when I logged on to Amazon, with a view to e-mailing a friend a link to the book. Started browsing through the editorial and customer reviews -- all the editorial reviews v. positive, but majority of the customer reviews quite negative.
My bias is gen. towards the customers (and esp. in this case, since they seem to be more actual travellers, vs. editors who merely review travel writing). Yet, and I find this odd, I actually like what I've read so far (caveat: haven't read it all), though I would agree, to a degree, with some of the negative comments.
Perhaps it's because I can relate. Work in finance. Born & raised in Bombay, studied in the US, lived in China learning Mandarin, now in Toronto and a soon-to-be Canadian citizen. No family, no strong ties to anywhere. Perhaps some those readers who dislike the book can't relate.
Some of the comments I agree with. There is repetition. Tone can sometimes be "whiny", as a few readers note. Iyer should pick up some language skills - I can feel at ease in Bombay or Beijing in large part because I have speak both Hindi and Mandarin.
Other criticisms I don't agree with. E.g., some have commented that Iyer's "global soul" relates to a v. small number of people. Well, that's the going-in position. The book is made of observations about being raised, living and working in multiple cultures/geographies. By definition, it's not going to be relevant for most of the 6 bn + people on the planet. They're not the target audience.
Pick yourself up off the ground, Pico!.......2001-11-18
I'm not eager to read a whole lot more by Pico Iyer. He seems very jaded with the world and despairing -- a killjoy for anyone enthusiastic about travel, such as myself. His go-nowhere anecdotes in this book seem like the unbearable whining of a guy who's barking up all the wrong trees looking for happiness.
The reason I don't feel for Pico is that a lot of his woes seem to be directly caused by choices he's made. Don't like airports and strip-malls? Bike or walk the world! Find Japan utterly dehumanizing? Learn the language, so you can make some friends there and talk to your wife, for chrissakes!
I don't feel for people who set themselves up to be miserable, let alone ones who take it out on the reading public by sowing seeds of despair. For an uplifting look at an Indian Brit who's made the best of his situation and shown a good deal of chutzpah, listen to the group Cornershop!
Customer Reviews:
A must-read for secondary educators.......2004-02-15
This is the best book I've read on secondary education. Most educators would agree that small schools--where teachers and students know each other well and cooperate on meaningful work--are incredibly effective. However, standard high schools are large and chaotic places where students and teachers go through the motions and not much of great intellectual significance ever happens. Rather, they are like shopping malls, where customers (students) go into stores (classrooms) and are offered goods (knowledge) by merchants (teachers).
We convince ourselves, though, that large, shopping mall-style high schools provide a "choice" for students, and grant them numerous "opportunities" to achieve. (Customers can choose whether they want to buy what the merchant is selling.) Writing in a similar style as "Horace's Compromise"--what Ted Sizer calls "fictional non-fiction"--the authors challenge the notion that big is better, and that more content equates to more learning. They demonstrate how truly ineffective schools are when they force teachers to see 160 students a day for only 50 minutes at a time.
The book wraps up with a detailed history of secondary schooling in the United States that demonstrates how we got to a place where we expect schools to do so much that they cannot do any of it well. If you are a secondary teacher in a large high school, I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
Mercer Mayer's popular Little Critter has a little-bit-scary adventure in this picture-book tale. When he goes to the busy, crowded mall with his mother, he loses track of her. "My mother is lost!" he tells the nearest security guard, bravely trying not to cry. Little Critter is taken to the security office and watches for his mother on the tv screens that are all around. It isn't long before Little Critter's mother rushes to the office to reclaim her son. His mother has been found! This small, suspenseful tale treats an important subject, and its funny, satisfying ending will be reassuring to children.
Customer Reviews:
Just Cute! (And Smart).......2006-03-05
That's how I'd describe this book in the "Little Critter" series, but then again, that's how I'd describe a lot of them.
This book is about Little Critter and his family visiting a shopping mall. There's a "jillion" critters there and Little Critter's Mom encourages him to stay close. But despite his best efforts, Little Critter's Mom gets lots. :D Fortunately, Little Critter knows just what to do and once they've read this book, kids will too.
The power of this book has already been attested to, so there's not really much more I can say about that. This is a story that kids can remember and if they ever get lost, they'll know just what to do.
My review of Just Lost.......2004-09-22
I think the book is very good. I liked reading it. The book gave a lot of information about not getting lost and what to do if you get lost. If you are ever lost in a mall you need to go to an adult and tell them that you are lost or that your mom is lost. I also like the pictures that are in the book. The pictures helped to make the book interesting
Helped my son when he got lost.......2003-02-15
I highly recommend this book! We recently went to a very crowded water park where we got separated from our 4 year old son. We found him, or I should say he found us, about 10 minutes later. He went up to a lifeguard and told them he couldn't find his mommy, then proceeded to give them my name and his name. When we asked him how he knew what to do, he said, it was because of the "Just Lost!" book and what we had talked about if he got lost. This book gives you a great opportunity to discuss a plan with your child if they should, heaven forbid, ever get lost.
Review by a 7-year-old.......2000-05-03
This story is a good one. It is called "Just Lost". It reminded me that I should stay by my mom or dad at the mall. And I learned that I should say "Wait for me" so I won't get lost.
Wonderful.......1998-11-10
I have been reading Mercer Mayer books to my children since they were one year old, and they love everyone of them. Just Lost is now my favourite, because of what took place in the book, actually came true this Spring while vacationing in Florida while we were at a mall. My 6 year old son, who was "just lost", did exactly what Little Critter did in this story. When we finally found him, his actual first words were, "I did just what they said in the Little Critter book Mommy". I was so proud of him, and can't believe that this book would come to his mind at a time like that!
Book Description
An analysis of the pedestrian malls built during the urban renewal period of the 60's and 70's, and of new urban open space designs. Explores the trend towards, and away from, full pedestrian malls, and analyzes newer project types, such as festival marketplaces and mixed-use urban spaces. Describes mall development processes such as feasibility analysis, planning and design. Also covers street furnishings ranging from paving, fountains and sculpture to lighting, canopies and seating. Offers updated coverage of new projects in New York, Tampa, Memphis, Louisville and Minneapolis. Also features over 250 photographs as well as detailed site plans of the projects covered.
Customer Reviews:
Good Source.......2000-12-20
This book is a good source for the architects and developers who are in business for an open air shopping complex. It gives ideas and examples from different aspects such as development, feasibility analysis and design elements. Case studies include description, development strategy and design features of the project. Probably one of the most useful chapters is the comparative analysis of the examined cases from the points of cost/blocks, land user areas, benefits and degree of success. On the other hand, I think this book should be in color.
Average customer rating:
- Cute...
- I'm So Embarrassed - I'm so bored
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I'm So Embarrassed
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Book Description
Andrew's mother always embarrasses him when they go to the mall. But Andrew needs new shoes, so there is no escape! This time is no different. Andrew's mom spits in her hand to smooth down his hair in front of everyone and shows his baby pictures to his teacher. But Andrew soon discovers he isn't alone. His friend Taylor-Jae has the same problem. Andrew and Taylor-Jae decide it's time for revenge! They announce to everyone in the mall that their mothers snore like bears and blame it on their dads. Now the mothers are the ones with red faces!
Customer Reviews:
Cute..........2007-01-10
I purchased this book because my 5 year old daughter is always telling me not to embarass her (not that I would ever do that!) We both enjoyed the story.
I'm So Embarrassed - I'm so bored.......2006-11-11
This book was just ok. I found it to be a bit boring. Not a very good moral to the story, the children just do the same thing back to their parents so what did they learn?
Book Description
Creating an appealing overall look as well as a distinctive image for each shop...integrating communal areas...handling parking and public facilities...these are just some of the challenges facing the designers of modern shopping malls. Shop and Malls features dozens of remarkable examples of successful malls, each one showcased with floor plans, insightful text, sketches, and full-color photographs that show how the designers met the retail challenge. Shop and Malls is a one-stop shopping resource for design professionals, architects, and urban planners.
Book Description
Woodfield Mall opened on September 9, 1971. Built in the village of Schaumburg, Woodfield Mall was a major factor in the rise of that city and all of ChicagoÂ's northwest suburbs. At the time of SchaumburgÂ's incorporation in 1956, approximately 130 people lived in the area. The mall opened with 59 stores on that fateful day in 1971, and actor Vincent Price served as master of ceremonies. By 1973, Woodfield Mall had grown to nearly 190 stores, and at 1.9 million square feet of retail, it was the largest mall in America at the time. Retailers and corporations began to flock to the area, and many top companies now call Schaumburg home, existing in the shadows of Woodfield Mall. Today Schaumburg holds a population of over 75,000 residents, and Woodfield Mall brings 27 million visitors per year to its 2.7 million square feet of shopping space, making it the number one visitor destination in Illinois. New stores continually reshape the shopping experience in this place where society and commerce collide.
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