Call of the Mall

The Atlantic Fascinating…Call of the Mall’s unique contribution to the field is less the sociological analysis than the shock of personal recognition Underhill provokes as he lasers in on some unexamined moments in modern life. Only a retail specialist could be so attuned to the human condition in all its shabby, formless boredom…Underhill is our bard of the suburbs.The Boston Globe Underhill has the social scientist’s uncanny ability to describe what is right under our noses with a lucidity that makes the mundane buying, selling, chowing down, hanging out positively riveting. The picture he leaves us with is surprisingly provocative…What malls do right, what they do wrong, and how they must adapt or else come into clear focus in this entertaining, unconventional survey.The New York Times Underhill’s sharp observations…have an obvious appeal for anyone who has ever been manipulated by discreet mall psychology.

Paco Underhill was the founder of Envirosell, Inc., a global research and consulting firm. His clients include more than a third of the Fortune 100 list, and he has worked on supermarket, convenience store, food, beverage, and restaurant issues in fifty countries. He is the bestselling author of Why We Buy, The Call of the Mall, What Women Want, and his newest book, How We Eat. He has also written articles for or been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Smithsonian Magazine, and more. Paco divides his time between New York City and Madison, Connecticut.