In his forthcoming book, Wharton professor David Bell reveals how location still matters in surprising ways, even in the supposedly “flat” world of e-commerce.
What’s your favorite brand of instant coffee? Do you prefer Folgers or Maxwell House? Believe it or not, that answer has little to do with your taste, and everything to do with where you’re from.
That’s one of many interesting takeaways from Location Is (Still) Everything, the forthcoming book (due out July 15) by Wharton professor David Bell. “We don’t have to throw away demographics, just because the Internet has come along,” he says, summarizing the big-picture finding of his work. “E-commerce doesn’t undo everything we already know.”
