Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

As the Internet grows, its vast collection of information can be hard to filter. What news reports are true? Which hotel or book or pop song is best? For that matter, is that hotel really sold out this weekend, or can an old-fashioned phone call resolve the issue? Web surfers love lists, especially best-of compendia. Online, people are drawn to what’s popular, trusting the taste of the mob. Lists curate much of the huge mass of choices available online.

Customer service can be spotty. Often, it’s not possible to reach a web company by phone. Localized information is still a work in progress; more online stores should follow Netflix’s lead and suggest popular purchases by Zip code. As media outlets have multiplied, individual ads reach fewer people. Internet ads, cheaper to run and customizable, have taken up some of this slack.

How does Internet shopping unfold? First is “The Pre-Shop” (236). Everything from shoes to cars is listed in detail online, making it easy to search by price and quality. This method improves shoppers’ bargaining power, but it also makes follow-up purchases at street stores quick and easy, which benefits those stores.

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