What Women Want: The Global Market Turns Female Friendly by Paco Underhill

What Women Want: The Global Market Turns Female Friendly Reviews

• 
  Jill Furedy

  What a disappointment this book was. I really enjoyed his other two books. I expected this one to be similar...observing what customers picked up, how they interacted with products, etc, just that this one would be female focused. I felt like the whole book was just Paco making generalizations about stuff he's seen over the years, with nothing specific to help readers out. Kinda made me think he doesn't want to give away too many more tips and just wants to convince people to hire his company. Telling us that women want to feel safe and clean is ridiculous simplification. He gives us very few specific examples of what made women cringe vs pleased with their experiences. What makes them shop at one clothing store versus another (in regards to his clean/safe theory)...he did mention seeing messy dressing rooms, but didn't mention how women reacted to them, just how he did. He gave us a little bit about hotels, but not so much about a retail setting. There was a section where he discussed women buying beer or wine and talked about marketing it as a family get together, removing the sexy women from the signs and packaging etc. Then he mentions wine labels are off-base...here is where I would have loved to see one of his observational scenes from Why We Buy: which ones were women picking up most often, which ones did they not slow down for? But no, that's the end of the chapter...he just tells them to think about the criteria women use to make their selections.
  The most interesting section was what the malls need to do to become 'lifestyle centers", but while interesting, isn't what I picked up the book for. He does include a section talking about how instead of signs for different designers in dept stores, they need signs saying "purses" "little black dress" etc. But he has no examples of anyone who has tried this successfully. He says Nordstrom had signs that say 'classic" "country "urban" instead of designers but that "I still don't think women are paying that much attention. First off, those don't help if you don't relate to one of their categories, but also, it still doesn't address his point of looking for a particular item. So again, here is where I wanted him to tell whether signs work at all, how they could be done better, especially since he said no one is paying attention to them. So then what would work? Did they try anything out?
  Then there were the odd lists he gave us to show the wide range of women's interests. This one is in reference to a home office: "If she wants she can check the Dow Jones average, glimpse the ten-day weather forecase, set an alarm clock that can signal when the TV show she loves is about to begin, or when the oven should be turned off." Really? An alarm for her TV show? Does he know someone who uses their home office for this? Later he updates how she's using it "tackle her own work, return emails, use Epicurious.com to hunt down a recipe for horseradish mashed potatoes, order a book from Amazon, or if she's curious and confident enough to have created her own Facebook account..." That's where I end the quote. I double checked the copyright, this book was written in 2010. What age group are these women who need confidence to create a FB account? He even has a section later discussing how women use social media, so I thought that was a bizarre statement.
  This did not earn a space on my bookshelf next to Call of the Mall and Why We Buy. Those I marked with pages I might refer back to. Notes I could use to improve my sales staff performance in a retail environment (though at my current job I'll use this less than when I worked at a dept store). This book, I only marked the things that left me shaking my head. I didn't mark a single thing that I found helpful or useful.
• 
  Benjamin Stahl

  What women, as a broad generalisation, want ... as told by some dweeby middle-aged male psychologist.
  
  Please don't get the wrong impression from the line above. I am not one of those people obsessed with identity politics, and who thinks one's opinion lacks the right to be heard if they do not belong to the group upon which they are stating an opinion. It just struck me, throughout this weird and somewhat condescending book, that Paco Underhill, in spite of his expertise in the field of market trends and whatnot, isn't the best authority of the female psyche.
  
  I don't know if it was just that my image of him was coloured by the tragic fact that he was twice rejected in proposing marriage to women, but there was something just a little sad about the man, and his whole outlook as demonstrated in this book can't help feeling disingenuous. I don't know who he's trying to please, but I don't know if it worked exactly, seeing as many other reviews don't look good for the book's overall standing.
  
  More generally, on top of simply finding economics and the market to be a boring topic I very rarely enjoy reading about, this book also has a really snobby feel to it. I hated the way Underhill kept portraying travelling businesswoman as being scared of taxi drivers, bell boys and all those disgusting working-class schlubs that might break into her hotel room and rape her because the stupid man at the lobby desk said her name and her room number out loud.
  
  Underhill reminded me of Mr Hutchinson from Fawlty Towers: the guy who goes snooping around complaining about anything that doesn't meet his own standards of customer-pleasing perfection, right down to what material shower-curtain-rings are made of.
  
  I didn't quite hate the book as there were, very occasionally, some interesting parts - especially where he talks about the new trend in supermalls, which are actually returning to a nicer aesthetic and becoming more female-friendly. But on the whole, I did not like it.
• 
  Petty Lisbon

  This wasn't a terrible book but it was a little all over the place with a key overlying theme of "women, amirite? *smirk*". I mean, his main points are that things that women prefer tend to be more egalitarian and popular such as furniture designs or shopping experiences instead of just regular "male" products that are marketed as "extreme", but he would jump from topic to topic for things like social networks without really elaborating on why only women would prefer those or why that leads to better product development. I liked hearing about how convenience stores became a thing (people wanted something better to do while waiting for prescriptions and the only options before were gross and had too many cigarettes and dirty magazines).
  I believe he says towards the end that some of these essays were from other topics he's written about (like malls) and it kind of shows. If you want to know about the history of furniture or gyms or you're Christina Applegate in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead and are making a pitch for a new product, this is a good book for you.
• 
  Felicia Mesadieu

  This book felt like thoughts that were soooo unorganized. I felt like I was in several conversations with the author about multiple topics when it should have been one topic and one conversation. He kept jumping around in the conversation. I don’t like the authors writing style. I didn’t leave the book happy that I read it.
• 
  M.C.A. Hogarth

  Like this one, but it's not up to Underhill's usual standards of interestingness.
• 
  Radostina Tsvetkova

  A little outdated as of 2022
• 
  Jay French

  After reading this, I thought a more proper title would be "What Stereotypical Women Want". I was quite amazed that the author based his opinions on very little hard data. He did claim to use data on one page, but that didn't seem like enough to me, not enough to base a book's worth of recommendations on, not enough to validate recommendations. This book is written to sound like all recommendations are based on the author's direct observations of how women act in retail environments, but when he describes many of these observation, you can see other equally plausible explanations exist which can lead to different recommendations or areas of focus. This is generalizing based on limited observation, which can be dangerous and wrong, like continuing to walk across a frozen river because the first step was safe. The author makes recommendations based on the author's stereotypes of women relating to shopping. Does the author do this to make the book more readable? Unfortunately you can't tell, there are no footnotes and limited references mentioned. But this tact does make the book more readable, and makes the author appear to believe he is an expert. Despite misgivings based on his methodology, I have to agree with some of his recommendations and generalizations. I just don't know which ones -- times change. And some of his generalizations are very vague, such as "women like security". Hard to argue with some of these generalizations for most people. I also took issue with the author taking credit for changes in convenience stores to bring in more women shoppers. The specific steps mentioned were taken by at least one of the companies he mentioned about a dozen years prior to the author taking credit for the idea. I was there working for that company. He lost credibility with me on that one. But with all business books, the test is whether you think differently or will take action based on the concepts presented. And with this book, some of the descriptions of what women want did resonate. Even though the book is aimed at retail and I work in software, I see some changes to how I try to present my software based on the customer's gender, including changes in presentation design and the words I use. Easy to try, and make my own observations.
• 
  Joe Robles

  Paco Underhill is great at boiling down what you need to know in simple and easy to understand concepts. if you've read Why We Buy, then you know he's absolutely brilliant when it comes to retail. I've applied several of his concepts to our business, and while I can't say that it alone is why we continued to post sales increases, even during the recession, it definitely didn't hurt. So when I saw that he'd written a book on the female consumer, I knew I had to pick it up.
  
  I've read two other books on the female consumer, Why She Buys (wonder where that title came from?), and The X and Y of Buy, but was looking to see what Mr. Underhill would have to add. What Underhill brings is insights across many different types of retail. He shows you how you can be successful if you run a chain, a drug store, what you can learn from Sephora and Aveda. The key when reading the book is to never dismiss anything as, "well that's a cosmetics store that doesn't apply to me." No those concepts can apply to you. Take the best practices from other companies and industries and figure out if you can incorporate them into your business. Realize that even if you've got a lot of female customers, are there things you can do better. If your primary customer base is male, and the people making the decisions in your company are male, then you're probably not maximizing your female customer base.
  
  The great thing about turning your business female friendly is that it doesn't alienate the male base. All the improvements and concepts in this book can be applied and your male customers will not go anywhere. I highly recommend this book, but think one should also read Why She Buys and The X and Y of Buy.
• 
  Jina

  I read this book because I had enjoyed Underhill's previous two books. This book was not written for me. It was written by a man, for men who are probably executives in large retail and service companies. Most of the things in it seemed so self-evident that I was surprised anyone would bother to call them out. For example, he talks about the importance of personal security: how most women, after ringing up a purchase, will not move away from the counter until their wallet is securely stowed. And how women hate having their luggage grabbed by a bellhop; they want to maintain control of it at all times. He marvels at the hate parties that girls and women have about their bodies: "I hate my thighs." "I hate my ankles." I was interested by what he said about Best Buy's efforts to be female-friendly, since I don't like going in there. And he had some interesting observations about drugstores. I wouldn't recommend it to women because it's too obvious, but it might be interesting reading for men.
• 
  Bonnie G.

  This book really, really peters out towards the end. He had me enraptured thinking about curves symbolizing women, giving a tour through the mall to show dressing rooms, cleanliness, etc. His other books are pretty spectacular and he made me think about the safety issues women are constantly struggling with (having names overheard in the hotel lobby, for instance). Soon, the food chapter just.....sounds like a cool coffee conversation with an observant friend, but loses all scientific merit. He frankly needed a better editor, a better direction, and more precise scientific details to back up his claims.
  
  Still a great, fast read- he tries to combine Call of the Mall with Killing Us Softly, no small feat with wishy washy results. A great addition for women studies and media studies courses.
• 
  Sarah

  I agreed with about half of his assessments on why and what women shop for. However, I thought he would have a more scientific approach to his conclusions. For instance, his statement that women don't smoke pot as often as men do is because they're worried about getting the munchies and getting fat as a result. Really? It seems like a big leap to conclude that based on the feedback from a couple of his female friends.
  I enjoyed the first half of this book but then I realized that he was able to make broad statements with the caveat that he "never means to offend." That's great dude, but I'm not offended by the statements, but instead by your lack of research.
  I don't think any women will find this book groundbreaking. However if you want to buy something for your dad or a boss who is trying to figure out some of the basic concerns women have when shopping, this is a good start.
• 
  Dawn

  Short book on how companies are changing to embrace the new roles women are playing, or in some cases, roles women were playing all along but never given credit for. Nowadays women have their own money to spend, and oftentimes are the people making decisions for a lot of the family's money as well. Paco Underhill covers many topics: printers, convenience stores, facebook, hotels, organic food, hardware, even house layouts. It's really interesting, though it doesn't really seem to break new ground, if that makes sense. It's more that he's informing you of changes that have already occurred and explaining why, with a little bit of research or comments from his personal (though very knowledgeable)friends. A quick read if it's something you're interested in, but nothing essential.
• 
  Elizabeth Olson

  Underhill, the genius guru who owns the turf at the intersection of psychology & retail marekting, hits another homer. What do women want? It turns out they pretty much want to shop in a clean, well-light, safe place that treats them with respect and lets them easily get what they came for. If you think that sounds a lot like what humans in general want in a shopping experience, you're not wrong. It's just that women are more particular about it, more able to articulate it, more ardent in expressing it, and most importantly, more willing to take their dollars to those businesses who get it. Underhill's writing is engaging and personable, and there's treasure here for anyone who interacts with women -- or other humans -- in any public or professional capacity.
• 
  Margaret Sankey

  At first, I was put off by the idea that it takes a marketing "guru" and extensive marketing testing to discover that women want clean bathrooms, non-surly service and personal safety, but then I reflect on the evil joy I have taken at buying online and avoiding the many stores where any clerk has acted put upon to get things from a high shelf, nosy questions were asked, the ATM was in a dark creepy corner, or anyone stood around watching me load a heavy object into the car. Apparently the invisible hand has not yet gotten around to slapping the chauvinism out of the local economy (excepting, of course, the hardware store where I bought my brick).
• 
  Mano

  Women represent half of the buying public and an increasing share of the world’s earning power, and are often an underserved market. I approached this book expecting examples of successful marketing towards women, perhaps backed by academic and industry studies. A best-case scenario would have been a framework or at least the views of successful marketers.
  
  Instead, what I found was a shoddily written piece, overly dependent on crude gender stereotypes (of women as well as men) and offering little practical value.
• 
  Nura Yusof

  I like Paco Underhill. But this book is geared towards male readers which is somehow disturbing coz' even in this day and age, we still don't get each other. I am chuffed, however, at his assertion that most of the 'innovations' in the various retail spaces are influenced in one way or another, by women. Talk about hearing us roar. Having said that though, this book lacked 'Aha' moments which his two previous outings had.
  
  Still a good read though.
• 
  Chad

  This is another great book by Paco Underhill. In the book, Underhill explains how changing gender roles in society have influenced the way that we live, the way that we shop and the products that we buy. It is a great book for retailers, entrepreneurs, and businesspeople who work in all industries. As an added bonus, in this book, Underhill provides some early observations about how social media is influencing our day-to-day lives.
• 
  Eva

  Just read (skimmed) What Women Want, and I am Not Impressed. The subtitle is "The Science of Female Shopping" but I found precisely zero scientific studies, or any solid data to back up his claims.
  
  If you say SCIENCE on the cover of your book, you'd damn well better give me some facts that support your tired stereotypes (women want nice refrigerators, men want a shiny new Macbook).
  
  I don't often say this but ... what a complete waste of $10.
• 
  Christine Quinn

  As women gain more buying power his company consults with other companies on how to be more women friendly.
  
  I think the author was right on saying women want cleanliness, control, personal safety and politeness from a complany.
  
  I enjoyed readying the author's book, "Why we Buy: The Science of Shopping Call of the Mall" too.
• 
  Wendy

  I had great hopes for this book, expecting insights into the psychological reasons for why most women are the hunters & gatherers. Instead, I had to suffer an insufferable sexist's view of women in the marketplace. A waste of my time. I couldn't stomach any more of his diatribe and ditched this book midway, glad that it was a returnable library copy.