The Science of Shopping

The message author Malcolm Gladwell is trying to give to the audience is looking into
the world of retail and seeing in the eyes of Paco Underhill, and his role in this industry and how
his work influences consumers. The “retail anthropologist” and “urban geographer” records these
consumers to see how they shop, what they look for, what brings in the most attention, the way
the store is displayed, and more.
The authors messages is supported, we see how the industry works through the eyes of
someone who’s job is solely based on the industry and why stores look and display things in a
certain way. We see exactly what these kinda of people do and what they do with the footage
they receive from consumers, which is what the author is shedding light upon. It is also
explained throughout the article about how it works and how much work goes into this industry
itself.
The evidence Gladwell uses is effective and ties his article together. Instead of feeding
the audience with facts and where he got it from, we get the information from someone who
works in the industry itself, as they interview them and their experiences. Undehill explains why
he does what he does, and what inspired him to in the first place. Gladwell uses other type of
support for his piece but I believe it was done in a way to still send out his message and inform
his audience.
The topic overall was very interesting to read about and learning and understanding
something not a lot of people notice or realize was also a deep dive into what the retail and
clothing industry may look like from the perspective of the consumer and the person that sets up
the store in a certain mannar as Underhill does. In my opinion it was overall something new I
learned about and I never realized just how happens behind the scenes of a “normal” looking
store. I feel this way as it is a topic I was not aware of and I always think it is interesting to learn
new things and maybe also learn about the details that we as customers of these stores may not
ever seem to notice.
One idea that I believe is that shares an important message about society is from this
quote in the passage, “The more time you spend with Paco’s videos, though, the less scary they
seem. After an hour or so, it’s no longer clear whether simply by watching people shop — and
analyzing their every move — you can learn how to control them.” This sends an important
message as this line of industry is not supposed to make customers uncomfortable, rather it is for
them and the improvement of stores overall. It is work like this that can help improve society a
little even if it seems like something minor. The deeper meaning that Gladwell is trying to spread
to his audience is that everyday we walk around stores and places that we love, and people just
want to make that experience better for everyone in general.