Decoding the New Consumer Mind: How and Why We Shop and Buy

by Kit Yarrow

Take a glimpse into the mind of the modern consumerA decade of swift and stunning change has profoundly affected the psychology of how, when, and why we shop and buy. In Decoding the New Consumer Mind, award-winning consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow shares surprising insights about the new motivations and behaviors of shoppers, taking marketers where they need to be into the deeply psychological and often unconscious relationships that people have with products, retailers, marketing communications, and brands.Drawing on hundreds of consumer interviews and shop-alongs, Yarrow reveals the trends that define our transformed behavior. For example, when we shop we show greater emotionality, hunting for more intense experiences and seeking relief and distraction online. A profound sense of isolation and individualism shapes the way we express ourselves and connect with brands and retailers. Neurological research even suggests that our brains are rewired, altering what we crave, how we think, and where our attention goes.Decoding the New Consumer Mind provides marketers with practical ways to tap into this new consumer psychology, and Yarrow shows how to combine technology and innovation to enhance brand image; win love and loyalty through authenticity and integrity; put the consumer's needs and preferences front and center; and deliver the most emotionally intense, yet uncomplicated, experience possible. Armed with Yarrow's strategies, marketers will be able to connect more effectively with consumers--driving profit and success across the organization.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Psychology, Design, Buisness, Audiobook, Economics

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Kit Yarrow, Ph.D., is a consumer psychologist who is obsessed with all things related to how, when, and why we shop and buy. She conducts research through her professorship at Golden Gate University and shares her findings in speeches, and consulting work.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a strong gut reaction against scientists and researchers using psychology to help marketers game consumers (I think psychologists should be held to the same standard as MDs: do no harm).

To be fair to Kit Yarrow, this book wasn’t TOTALLY about that... she spends most of the book telling companies to act like real people with feelings who care about the people giving them money. Maybe this should be a basic concept for all marketers, but judging by the rate her books sell, it’s not.

The consumer profiles she outlines in the book as so sad, so damaged, it feels like the grossest breach of humanity to take advantage of their shallow efforts at fulfillment, status and happiness. Humans are pathetic, un-self-aware creatures who shop to make themselves feel better... here’s how to not anger them before or after they make a purchase.... It’s a sordid business, marketing.

Yarrow might be outlining the best way forward as she sees it: consumerism is here to stay, so here’s how to not be an ass about it. Still, it’s hard not to see the facts: successful marketing bypasses logic and appeals to the animal brain, over and over, creating a fractured, isolated culture of lonely, angry narcissists.

Congrats, marketers! You’re still selling emptiness and providing your customers with a false sense of connection, but hey, at least they’re momentarily distracted from the meaninglessness of their existence!

Cool? Cool.

[Anna Morgenstern · Rating 3 out of 5]

While very insightful and informative, I found that the author was too scattered and sometimes strayed away from the subject.

[Jonathan Mckay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of hand waving and overuse of the word 'increasingly'. The facts are scattershot trivia, nothing unified or edifying here. I'm out.

[Dmitry · Rating 1 out of 5]

(The English review is placed beneath Russian one)

Очень удивлён, что автор данной книги одновременно читает лекции и по психологии и по маркетингу, т.к. как с точки зрения маркетинга, так и с точки зрения психологии книга очень слабая. По сути даже, тут больше самого автора, нежели заявленных тем. К примеру, автор четверть книги отводит вопросу, как сильно технологии изменили нынешнее общество, что, мол, всё теперь происходит с помощью гаджетов и интернета. И далее она ярко развивают эту мысль, что становится понятно, что человека такой технологический тренд не то что беспокоит, а прям пугает. Видна негативная составляющая текста автора, когда она пишет о подростках, которые всё время сидят, уткнувшись в свои смартфоны или взрослые люди, которые не слушают выступающего, а также используют свой смартфон. Проблема не в том, что технологии ничего не изменили, а проблема в том, что это уже очевидно каждому. Поэтому-то и возникает вопрос: а зачем всё это нужно было писать, если это очевидно каждому, а уж профессиональному маркетологу и подавно? Ответ: чтобы рассказать, как всё, в связи с этим, плохо. Порой казалось, что это старческое нытьё по поводу незнакомых предметов и не желанных изменений. И так, фактически, до середины книги. Да, наверно кто-то подумал, что автор просто хотела подвести под идею, что маркетинг всё сильнее и сильнее переносит своё внимание в онлайн среду. Ну, возможно задумка была и такая, но вот реализация получилось просто ужасная. Половину текста можно просто выкидывать по вышеназванным причинам. Т.е. проблема с этой книгой не в том, что автор что-то не то написала, что-то, с чем я категорически не согласен, а в том, что ценных идей там практически и нет, и можно было просто отделаться простой статьёй в профильном журнале. Было бы коротко, по делу и без ненужного увеличения объёма.

I am very surprised that the author of this book gives lectures on psychology and marketing at the same time, as both from the point of view of marketing and from the point of view of psychology the book is very weak. In fact, there is even more of an author here than the topics stated. For example, a quarter of the book is devoted to the question of how much the technology has changed the present-day society, that everything now happens with the help of gadgets and the Internet. And then the author develops this idea so much that it becomes clear that such a technological trend does not bother the author, but frightens him. The negative component of the author's text is visible when she writes about teenagers who are always looking at their smartphones or adults who do not listen to the speaker, and also use their smartphones. The problem is not that technology hasn't changed anything, but that it's already obvious to everyone. That's why the question arises: why did the author write all this, if it's obvious to everyone, and even to a professional marketer, for a long time? Answer: to tell everyone how bad it is. Sometimes it seemed that it was an old man's whining about unfamiliar objects and unwanted changes. And this is what the first half of the book looks like. Perhaps the author wanted to express the idea that marketing is increasingly moving its attention to the online environment. Perhaps this was the idea, but then the implementation turned out to be just terrible. Half the text can just be thrown away for the above reasons. So the problem with this book is not that the author has written something wrong, something I strongly disagree with, but that there are practically no valuable ideas there. The author should have written an article in a specialized journal instead of this book, and that would have been enough. It would have been short and without any unnecessary increase in volume.

[Judy]

I read about half of this book and then pretty much lost interest. I skimmed the remainder. The author seems like a really nice person.

[Amir Jabbari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much data and very little emphasis on the human-intuitive nature of consumers.! That’s the problem most marketers are making today. This book is a great help to make sense of consumers’ actions and decisions.

[Denise Mccabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though it is already a bit outdated, it has very relevant information and, frankly, it's a little alarming as to how businesses have figured out how to make us buy!

[Mart Vainu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is full of new material. Not just general facts that every marketing book talks about, but rather the author goes deep into why humans make X decisions. The situations are really relatable as well, for example, how discounts make humans react. We've all bought something because of a discount. The book explains why we did it. :)

There are loads of examples of companies that have used the strategies and the author explains why the campaigns worked.

Overall: really enjoyed it, fun read and got a ton of great ideas.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a few good points, but overall, this book is now dated. Find a marketing book post-Covid. I failed to see this was published in 2016. I read it anyway, but the fact that it pretty much doesn’t mention Instagram and a few other common-place marketing streams dates the book and makes me question what else is missing since 2016.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The fact that people generally- and mistakenly- believe that they make decisions logically and consciously only increases their influence."

Decoding the New Consumer Mind was published in 2014, yet I still found the book to still be scarily accurate to the social and economic environment we are currently in today. I picked up this book because I myself wrestle with purchasing decisions both big and small, and find myself questioning if anything I ever actually bought, actually matters (or if I even really wanted).

Short answer is yes. Everything matters and if you think it doesn't then that's part of the problem. I really appreciated how Yarrow broke the book up in 5 psychological shifts. Even behaviors that we inherently know like how too much choices and stimulation affect our decision making (we are more swayed by risky outliers) are highlighted in a thoughtful way to bring the big picture together. She deep dives into how we as consumers, think and feel which surprise surprise, stems from childhood trauma and personal experiences. Yarrow quotes that everyday we are bombarded with millions of stimuli, but we prioritize the new, threatening, and interesting things/problems. The rest of it, which represents 99.99% of the information we receive gets sent to internal processing- or the unconscious mind.


I viewed this book as a foundational resource that can obviously be built upon on as things change rapidly and 10 years is a lot of time for the birth of new technology and practices. But ultimately, a big takeaway I learned was the root of identity. Understanding ourselves, why we're purchasing things from a luxury branded sweater to a GE washing machine goes back to our sense of self, morals, and mind. In a world where we are being pushed to our limits, where having 18 things on a plate is better than 2 , where if you don't work 3 jobs or dedicate 60 hours a week into work then you're failure, is poisoning our ability to focus, process, and have a thoughtful decision making process. I remember reading on how are brains are constantly being interrupted (think about, you're cooking dinner and you hear you phone beep- that's a simple interruption) and how are brains are required to crave that interruption (tik tok has only emphasized out decreased attention span) and I look up and I see my little sister doing her homework on her laptop while having a unrelated youtube video playing on her phone next to her. It shows how natural it is to constantly be multitasking, but it's almost becoming counterproductive than what multitasking was set out to do.

Technology will always play a huge part in our life, social circles, career choices, politics, and environment. It has made us faster and efficient, yet also unreliable. If I were to continue I would end up writing an entire essay in this review.

Overall, I really liked the book and I felt like I was able to walk away with key takeaways which I can sometimes struggle to do with these types of books. It's definitely not the most updated or I guess, revolutionary, but I felt extremely impacted from this book.

[Bhuvanesh Kandasamy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book would have been more relevant if read 5 years back. But it provides interesting insights on the mindset shift of consumers to being more individualistic, unique in the digital era. It shares examples of businesses trying to tap into this shift to grow their businesses. To summarise in one sentence 'Humanize businesses/brands to appeal to consumers'

[Garrett Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a business class in my bachelors program. It has some helpful and useful insights about the psychology of consumers today. Good for marketers, business owners, psychologists who study consumer behavior, and of course students who are in a marketing class or program.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7/5

I did not read this book to learn how to market to customers but to understand how we are being marketed to . It was quite interesting to read how our brains are changing due to smartphones.

[GUSTAV D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broadens one's perspective on how consumers are in this day and era. You are left with concerns about our ever more digital world and addiction to quick stimulus, but also how these unconsious changes can be used to create great marketing compaigns.

[Jordan Byrd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting concepts, but not very well written, with obvious typos every 4 or 5 pages. Also, some of the marketing guidance was just flat out bad. There were also way too many random anecdotes about individual consumer's experiences.

[Jernej Vukotič · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice and knowledgeable

I like how the book was writen, no long explanations and easy to understand. Well done 👍, moving to gen buy 😊

[Angelo Ploscariu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much story-telling.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Largely had information that I already knew, but a few good nuggets of wisdom that served as reminders.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

compelling and important for our modern world

[Lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tengo la certeza de que toda esta información se usará para algún fin malévolo, pero el conocimiento es bueno también. Los consumidores quieren estar conectados emocionalmente con la marca, sentirse reconocidos y respaldados. Me gustó también que no sólo habla de márketing, sino que también habla de los problemas sociales modernos, como la soledad y el narcisismo.
La gente tiene más claro lo que ha ahorrado que lo que ha gastado.

[Yiye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic that taps into consumers' psychology that helps explain their shopping behaviors and attitudes. It's a good read for marketers trying to understand technology-savvy consumers. The book didn't offer advice on strategies or tactics till the last few chapters. The author spent quite some time discuss consumers' mindset nowadays - more self-reliant, highly distracted, crankier, just to name a few. The case she made about facebook resonated with me. I myself deleted facebook app from my iphone more than a year ago and didn't regret at all. I still check facebook once or twice a day but don't feel this impulse to check the app every half an hour for fear of missing something important. I spent my time elsewhere that adds value to myself.

The author suggest that brands should at least try to be innovative to stay in the game. The perception of being technologically advanced help build trust between consumers and the brand. Which you would trust more? A company you can't even find their website or one that's actively engaged and sophisticated in leveraging the social media space?

The book mentioned a couple of recent marketing campaigns - for example, Kleenex "Share the Softness" is brilliant. In addition, Lululemon and other fashion brands asked their shoppers to share photos. Everyone is a model. These user-generated content have proven to drive brand awareness as well as contribute to sales growth.

Overall, it's a nice read with updated references.

[Ieva Upeniece · Rating 4 out of 5]

This year I’m reading more business books compared to last year. Actually 20% of the books that I read so far in 2017 were business books, which for me is an achievement. Last year it was only 6%. (Yes, I’m a numbers’ freak and I had to calculate percentages) I think the shift happened because I realised that not all business books are boring, a lot of them are providing valuable insights for my work or self-development and I realised how small is actually the world of science (especially neuroscience / psychology / neuromarketing, which are my favourite fields) – I keep being referred to the same authors and professors (e.g., Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, Susan Cain). Long story short, the turn to read Decoding the New Consumer Mind came. Even though I didn’t read it, I listened to the audiobook.

You can read my full review here: http://www.notesofabookdragon.com/201...

[Pam Joslin]

Book Club book

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Decoding the New Consumer Mind: How and Why We Shop and Buy" is a must read for business leaders who are looking to sell their products and services in the new business world. Dr. Kit Yarrow not only explains what factors are influencing how consumers shop, but she also gives solid advice about what businesses can do to succeed. This a perfect follow-up book to "Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail." I recommend reading both books.

[Filip Rublev · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book clearly encourages marketers to perceive their audience from a more “human” perspective and understand the reason for the changes in the consumer behavior that the entire industry has been observing during last years.

As “we are generally designed for survival, not quality of life,” humanity struggles with some modern challenges. Has technology caused it? The general answer is no, but both the recession and technological changes that amplified some human traits, helped.

[Judd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a filler during downtime at work on lunches and at home when I had a few minutes here and there. I initially picked it up at the library for entrepreneurial research. I found very quickly this was actually far more fun to read than I had expected. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to get a better understanding the how the buyer's mind works and strategies for businesses, large and small, to consider when approaching their consumers.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tidbits about how the modern consumer shops and buys. Not much too surprising though. Book seemed to be over awful quickly to me. Would have been nice to see it expanded a bit more.

[Catleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. Great insights- via routes of clinical psychology on the how and why of buying. I learned it all comes down to what humans want: connection. Quick read, and very inspiring.

[Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very essential reading these days.

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a useful introduction to consumer psychology. What I liked best about it is that the examples and research are current.