Five best studies of consumer culture

Paco Underhill is CEO of Envirosell Inc. and the author of Why We Buy and Call of the Mall.

In 2006 he named a five best list of studies of consumer culture for the Wall Street Journal. One title on the list:

"FutureShop" by Daniel Nissanoff (Penguin, 2006).

I was not prepared to like "Futureshop" by Daniel Nissanoff. Books about e-commerce tend to be like uninspired sex: a convenient shortcut to a nap. But this one is like the jolt of a double espresso. Who knew that secondary markets could be so interesting? In Daniel's view, eBay is creating an "auction culture" that is transforming the way we shop on- and offline. After all, when a used car is transformed into a "preowned" Lexus, secondhand status has lost all its stigma. Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart, is quoted as having no concerns about the threat of Target, but eBay keeps him up at night.

Read about the other four books on Underhill's list.

--Marshal Zeringue