Applying Lessons from

Why We Buy
by Paco Underhill

to Your Own
Online Business
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Applying Lessons
Introduction
This ebook was created from a
series of posts at my blog,
“Kicking Over My Traces,” as an
exercise in applying the findings
reported by Paco Underhill in
regards to field research he and
his company have conducted for
the retail industry about the
habits of people in brick-and-
mortar retail settings. I thought
that it would be interesting and
instructive to take those find-
ings and apply them to web-
sites. I hope that you find some-
thing here to use on your own
website.

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Discussion Point #1:
A Reason to Return
Mr. Underhill points to retailers
that successfully exploit this
method (giving customers a rea-
son to return) by engaging their
customers (video and music
stores that promote upcoming
new releases) and those that do
not (bookstores, except for
Harry Potter or other movie tie-
ins). He points out that this
should be done at least at two
levels: big and bold and quick
when the customer first enters;
and more detailed when the
customer reaches a point where
details are appreciated.
How can websites give their
visitors a reason to return?
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Discussion Point #1:
A Reason to Return
If you aim at all for repeat vis-
its, you need fresh content.
Even better if the fresh content
arrives dependably or pre-
dictably — then your visitor can
schedule a return in anticipa-
tion of the fresh content.

Note that we’re talking here

about visitors at your website
right now — an emailed
newsletter can serve for cus-
tomers who aren’t currently vis-
iting.

How can websites inform their

visitors of this fresh content?
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Discussion Point #1:
Blogs are one obvious answer,
but not the only answer. A blog
must itself present fresh con-
tent in the form of new posts,
though, so be ready to make
that commitment.
News portals can provide both
big & bold, and more detailed
information.
A calendar of upcoming events
— even a headline doubling as a
link to more details, in a high
traffic area of the website could
increase repeat traffic.
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A Reason to Return
If your website has a point
where everything grinds to a
halt, such as while an online
sale is confirmed, give your visi-
tor something to look at besides
a whirling candy or “Please
wait.” Displaying useful infor-
mation about upcoming events
might even prevent your visitors
from repeatedly clicking the
Confirm button out of frustra-
tion and boredom.
Page 5
Discussion Point #2:
Interception Rate
Mr. Underhill points out that
successful retailers have a high
interception rate: the number
of customers entering the store
who are contacted in some
fashion by an employee is high.

Some stores, such as Wal-Mart,

employ special greeters at the
door.

Others train and reward

employees to notice customers
who need help, and to respond
in a timely fashion.

What does “interception rate”

mean in an online context?
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Discussion Point #2:
Interception Rate
One of the usual characteristics
of online interaction is asyn-
chronicity. Generally speaking,
we don’t expect a live person to
be available behind the screen.
A well-written FAQ helps. A live
chatroom is much less frequent
because difficult to staff 24/7.
Community forums are difficult
to jumpstart and to monitor.

Much more common is the inter-

action taking place in email and
comment boxes. Civil email and
comments should be encouraged
ahead-of-time by solicitations,
and after-the-fact by a perti-
nent response.
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Discussion Point #3:
Display Windows
Mr. Underhill points out that
successful retailers make good
use of display windows, first, to
draw customers’s initial atten-
tion; second, to draw customers
into the store. He also empha-
sizes that displays are never
seen under optimal conditions:
if the message to be conveyed
is not big and bold and short
and simple and memorable,
your effort is wasted.

What does “display” mean in

an online context?
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Discussion Point #3:
The obvious answer is a website
homepage, and a lot has been
written about good homepage
design. I recommend starting
with Homepage Usability: 50
Websites Deconstructed by
Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir.
Mr. Nielsen has a bias towards
text content which I think is a
bit overdone these days, but his
suggestions for usefully organiz-
ing a homepage are solid.
If you stop with your website’s
homepage, though, you’ve
stopped way too soon. Most
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Display Windows
people won’t come to your site
through your homepage. They’ll
land on interior pages through a
referral from another website,
or by clicking on the result of a
search. In retail, that’s rather
like the single-minded customer
heading to the pharmacy at the
back of the drugstore to pick up
her son’s asthma medication
refill. She doesn’t see the rest
of the store until the medica-
tion is paid for and she’s point-
ed toward the front door. Is
your signage taking that into
consideration?
Page 9
 Discussion Point #3:
In the case of a website, when
a visitor lands on an interior
page you want to present them
with a cohesive view of the site
in terms of design and ways of
getting around. In particular,
it’s a Very Good Thing to let
them know where they’ve land-
ed: “crumb navigation” is use-
ful.
Crumb navigation frequently
takes a form similar to this:
Home > Book Lists > 2006 > 01 > 03
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Display Windows
The visitor is four levels down
from the website’s homepage,
viewing a booklist for January 3,
2006; and he can click on any of
the links to reach a higher
level. (None of the example
links is live.)
Note that such crumb navigation
is in addition to links that might
jump “horizontally” from one
interior page to another.
A visitor to your website should
always be able to tell where he
is in relation to the homepage,
and the purpose of the current-
ly displayed webpage. Quickly.
Without a Flash™ or other plug-
in.
Page 10
 Discussion Point #3:
Display Windows
Three good books on general
website usability concerns:

• Designing Web Usability by

Jakob Nielsen (though I think
he leans a tad heavily on text
content);

• Don’t Make Me Think

by Steve Krug;

• Information Architecture for

the World Wide Web by Louis
Rosenfeld & Peter Morville
(more geeky than the others);
Even if you’re going to hire a website designer — and you want a website
designer, not just a graphic designer — you should be aware of the issues
involved.
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Discussion Point #4:
What Websites Can’t Do
Mr. Underhill lists three things
in particular that he says stores
can do, but that websites can’t:

1. touch, trial or other sensory

stimuli

2. immediate gratification

3. social interaction

We’ll look at each one

individually.
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Discussion Point #4:
What Websites Can’t Do
1. touch, trial or other sensory
stimuli

Mr. Underhill has in mind the

aroma wafting through the mall
from a Cinnabon™ store, or the
appeal of touching a silk blouse.
Websites have only two senses
available to them: sight and
sound. Both can be abused, and
frequently are. That doesn’t
mean you site must be silent or
visually bland; merely that you
must design it with your cus-
tomer’s goals in mind as well as
your own.

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Discussion Point #4:
Almost never should a site start
blasting sound the instant a
connection is made. Keep in
mind that your visitor may be
viewing the site from work, and
your site-appropriate sound
could prove embarrassing or
worse. Providing a choice for a
visitor to hear sound once ori-
ented is more appropriate.
Make sure it’s easy to figure out
how to turn the sound on — and
off!
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What Websites Can’t Do
Sight is the biggest sensory
stimulus the web has to offer.
You should make the most of it
by keeping things simple and
appealing. If you’re selling
chocolate truffles, you can’t
hand out free samples like
See’s™ does at their stores —
but you can present an irre-
sistible graphic of a chocolate
truffle front and center that
will make your visitors’ mouth
water so they can almost taste
that truffle on their tongue.
Page 14
Discussion Point #4:
What Websites Can’t Do
2. immediate gratification

Anything that can be digitized

can be downloaded, so immedi-
ate gratification of, for
instance, a desire for an mp3 of
the latest by the Lascivious
Biddies is a click or two away.

However, anything non-digitiz-

able cannot provide immediate
gratification through the web.
Visitors will have to wait at
least for overnight delivery until
someone figures out how to
shove the latest Manolo Blahnik
shoes through a broadband link.

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Discussion Point #4:
What Websites Can’t Do
3. social interaction

Can anyone say: comments? bul-

letin boards? topic-oriented
forums? live chat? If you want to
build up a community of repeat
customers who feel invested in
your website, there are many
ways to promote social interac-
tion. But be forewarned: most
of them require a moderator,
and moderating takes more
time than you’d like.

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Discussion Point #5:
Adjacencies
Mr. Underhill discusses four
things about adjacencies:

1. Items need to be displayed

grouped as people use them.

2. A sensible, logical order of

presentation will increase
sales. (Sometimes irrational
combinations will also work.)

3. For each webpage, ask: what

else is on the visitor’s mind
here? Whatever it is, there
should be a link.

4. Don’t let your information go

stale or dated.
We’ll look at each one
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 Discussion Point #5:
1. Items need to be displayed
grouped as people use
them.
For instance, if you’re selling
digital SLR cameras, group them
with their accessories such as
lenses and flashcards.
adjacencies: placing one item next
to another to create some spark
and sell more of both.
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Adjacencies
2. A sensible, logical order of
presentation will increase
sales. (But sometimes irra-
tional combinations will also
work.)
In the camera example above,
the camera sensibly comes first,
followed by items that naturally
might be added subsequently
once the decision is made over
the particular brand and model
of camera. What else might be
paired? How about a good intro-
ductory photography book, or a
magazine?
Page 18
Discussion Point #5:
Adjacencies

What might be paired with a

digital camera that, initially,
might seem odd? How about
travel posters?

Or newborn baby items?

Page 19
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Discussion Point #5:
3. For each webpage, ask:
what else is on the visitor’s
mind here? Whatever it is,
there should be a link.
For example, in a blog post
reporting the passing of an
author, post links to that
author’s books. Or, in an infor-
mational webpage illustrated
with low-resolution photo-
graphs, tell the visitor where
high-resolution digital copies
may be purchased.
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Adjacencies
4. Don’t let your information
go stale or dated.
The analogy on a website to Mr.
Underhill’s cited yellowing mag-
azines and outdated single-sided
posters is a blog or community
forum with the latest post
dated weeks ago, or a cross-link
that leads nowhere. Keeping
even a modest website up-to-
date is challenging, but should
not be neglected.
adjacencies: placing one item next
to another to create some spark
and sell more of both.
Page 20
Discussion Point #6:
Design, Merchandising, and Operations
Mr. Underhill defines these
terms:

1. design: the premises (physi-

cal accomodations).

2. merchandising: choosing
what you put in the premis-
es.

3. operations: what employees

do.

We’ll look at each one individ-

ually, but for websites rather
than brick-and-mortar shops.
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Discussion Point #5:
Design, Merchandising, and Operations
1. Design. Some suggestions for reading
about web design:
Website design is crucial — for
instance, if visitors can’t find • Don’t Make Me Think
your website (because search by Steve Krug
engines can’t index the site),
nobody will drop by to read • Homepage Usability: 50
your editorial content, or drool Websites Deconstructed
over your product photography. by Jakob Nielsen
If your website’s visitors can’t
If you can afford it, employ a
navigate confidently to either
website designer (not just a
find what they’re looking for or
graphic designer) who under-
poke around to see what there
stands workflow and informa-
is to see, they’ll be gone with-
tion architecture. Your life will
out even the tinkle of a bell to
be better.
alert you.

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Discussion Point #6:
Design, Merchandising, and Operations
2. Merchandising. dpi, and bogs down if the photo
gets too big. So paying for larg-
What are you selling? Why? Who er fancier pix is a waste of
wants it? Who needs it? How do money.) Some titles to flip
you present it attractively? How through:
can you organize it to increase
sales? There are bushel-baskets • Visual Merchandising
of books on merchandising, by Robert Colborne
most geared to brick-and-mor-
tar — flip through them to see • 1001 Ideas to Create Retail
what can be cost-effectively Excitement
adapted to a website. (Always by Edgar A. Falk
remember cost effectiveness.
• Inspired Retail Space
For example, product photogra-
by Corinna Dean
phy on the web doesn’t require
a greater resolution than 72

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Discussion Point #1:
A Reason to Return
3. Operations.

Workflow is critical, or you’ll be

a slave to your website.
Thought needs to be applied to
all aspects, from website
updates to order fulfilment to
scouting for new stuff to start
the cycle again and keep visi-
tors returning. Don’t forget the
paperwork: business licenses;
taxes; workers comp for
employees… I don’t have any
suggested titles for this topic
because all the ones I looked at
are four to six years old, and
the online landscape has
changed so much that I’d like to
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 Applying Lessons
End Note

your visitors, and more

tightly focused on your
goals for it.

But that’s not the end of

my interest, either. I would
love to hear from anyone
who puts these ideas to
work, or who comes up
with variations, or who
knows a good book to add
to the lists.
That’s the end of this ebook, but it
shouldn’t be the end of your deep Email me:
thinking about how to make your
website easier and more useful for hearye@cehwiedel.com
Page 25
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