"Have you ever asked yourself "why did I buy this item?""

Why People Buy Things They Don't Need is the title of a book authored by marketing consultant Pamela N. Danziger. Have you ever pondered this question? Perhaps you have asked yourself "why on earth did I ever buy this item?" Danziger is a specialist in advising companies how to capture a bigger slice of the consumer market. Over a span of twenty years she has thoroughly researched the fundamental motives that induce people to buy and the results of her findings and insights are shared with us in her handbook. From the very first chapter the author's main contention is that people "do need" and as she states, "that is the simple answer to a profoundly challenging question." There is a desire to satisfy a need and it is this need that we must understand in order to be able to market our products effectively. In other words, understanding the emotional satisfaction of the purchase is of vital importance.

The first section of the book deals with what we need and emphasis is placed on the act of consuming rather than the item being consumed. Emotion and desire become essential, as consumers need a reason to purchase. Various examples are provided in order to show how sales can be improved, if the seller only knew what we needed. The author recounts her own story when she was required to replace her dishwasher. The salesperson showed her various brands and ultimately she purchased the machine. However, as she points out, had the salesperson tried to probe further he would have discovered that all of her kitchen appliances were over ten years old. As we all are aware, ten years is the time when kitchen appliances begin to show their wear and tear. The element of justification would then have presented itself, as the purchaser would have permission to update and it would not have taken too much to induce her to purchase a stove and a fridge.

The author presents us with a detailed analysis of this justification or permission to purchase by exposing to the reader fourteen "justifiers" that creates this motivation. These fourteen are based on quality of life, pleasure, beautifying the home, education, relaxation, entertainment, planned purchase, emotional satisfaction, replacing existing item, stress relief, hobby, gift to yourself, impulse purchasing, and status. As the Danziger maintains, "it is the justifiers that give consumers the illusion that they are acting rationally in purchasing, but in reality, they remain driven by personal desires and emotions."

The second section of the book describes what is being purchased and the final section endeavours to show us where we are headed or what are the consumer trends.

The book is undoubtedly an interesting addition to the growing collection of published materials pertaining to the subject matter.

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Posted August 22, 2002