Available to book
Paco Underhill
Consumer Trends
Behavioural Science
Marketing
Decode consumer behavior and drive smarter commercial decisions with Paco Underhill, world-leading authority on retail psychology and shopping anthropology. For over four decades, Paco has partnered with global brands to decode how customers move, choose, and buy across both physical and digital retail environments. His consulting firm has worked with over a third of the Fortune 100 across 53 countries.
Author
Business Consulting
Retail
Anthropologist
Business Leader
Founder
CEO
Interactive Keynote
Paco Underhill is regarded as the godfather of retail anthropology. The son of a diplomat who grew up around the world, Paco brings a unique global perspective to his work which has transformed how we understand consumer behavior today.
Paco founded Envirosell Inc. in 1986, growing it into a consultancy that has worked across 53 countries and with more than a third of the Fortune 100. His recent client roster includes Google, Samsung, and other major technology companies, reflecting his continued relevance at the cutting edge of retail and consumer science. He is the author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, published in 27 languages and used in MBA and retail training programs worldwide. His most recent book, How We Eat, reveals the changing ways we produce, get, and consume our food.
Drawing on over four decades of fieldwork inside stores, restaurants, airports, and homes, Paco translates raw consumer data into decisions that move the needle. His work spans retail and banking through to healthcare, professional sports, and technology, and he is currently undertaking a series of audits for the National Park Service, assessing points of service, signage, and gift stores across Western parks for diverse visitor types.
Audiences who attend Paco's sessions leave with a clearer picture of how physical and digital environments shape purchasing decisions, practical tools for applying consumer behavior research to their own markets, and methods for reading customer intent that have been tested across cultures and industries. He also offers retail tours as a practical follow-up to his keynotes.
Paco has delivered presentations in over 50 countries using his signature "edutainment" style, making audiences laugh in order to make them think. His track record of turning complex behavioral research into actionable strategies, tailored for different cultures and markets, makes him one of the most consistently in-demand voices in retail and consumer science.
Paco Underhill brings over four decades of fieldwork across 53 countries and direct consultancy with a third of the Fortune 100, translating consumer behavior into commercial strategy that works across sectors. His frameworks help leadership teams decode purchasing intent in physical and digital environments — indispensable for any organisation reimagining their customer journey or preparing for retail's next chapter.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Email paco.underhill@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Paco's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Paco Underhill structures his sessions around four decades of direct fieldwork — observational research conducted inside stores, restaurants, airports, and homes across 53 countries — translating that raw consumer data into decisions relevant to the audience's specific market or industry.
Paco Underhill speaks on retail anthropology, consumer behaviour in physical and digital environments, and the science of shopping across global markets, with additional work covering food production and consumption. He is the author of Why We Buy, translated into 27 languages and used in MBA and retail training programmes worldwide, and founded Envirosell Inc., a consultancy that has operated across 53 countries and worked with more than a third of the Fortune 100.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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