Some methods of making buyers get more

2.  You are going to read a magazine article about some methods of making buyers get more at supermarkets.

a) Match the words given below with their synonyms or explanations.

Part I
1. at leisure	a) to press something so that it becomes soft, damaged or flat
2. a compartment	b) the money people make by selling things
3. 3. to pipe	c) without hurrying
4.to speed up	d) a small cart used for putting the things you buy at supermarkets
5.counterproductive	e)a section
6.to squash	f) to send something through tubes from one place to another
7.a counter	g) to make somebody want to do something even if they know it is wrong
8.profit	h) having the opposite effect
9. essentials	i) plan, design, arrangement
10. a trolley	j) to move or happen faster
11. to tempt	k) a long flat surface over which goods are sold in shops
12. a layout	l) (here) basic products
Part II
13.a queue	m) to place or throw things in different directions
14.disabled	n)a try
15.a checkout	o) to attract or interest somebody
16.groceries	p) to look at a lot of things rather than looking at one particular thing
17.a wheelchair	q) a line
18.a badge	r) always thinking of other people's wishes and feelings, trying not to hurt or upset others
19.to appeal	s) a place where you pay for the things you are buying in a supermarket
20.an attempt	t) invalids
21.to put somebody off	u) a special moving chair for invalids
22.considerate	v) a special sign showing that a person who wears it has a particular status
23.to browse	w) goods sold at supermarkets
24.to scatter	x) to make somebody dislike something

 

b) Read the text below and decide if the statements given after it are true or false.

Have you ever wondered why some stores smell of fresh bread or why some play music and others don't? We asked the experts at 'SuperMarketing' magazine to explain some of the hidden tricks of the trade.

Question 1. "Why are the fresh fruit and vegetables usually at the entrance to the store? It's always crowded, and they get squashed if I have to load heavy cans and packets on top."

Answer. It's simply because supermarkets make a high profit on fresh fruit and vegetables and they have discovered they sell more of them if they're near the entrance. According to research carried out by supermarkets, customers prefer fresh goods to come first. Maybe it's because many of us arrive at the store concentrating on the kinds of fruit and vegetable we need. Once we've got that out of the way we can relax and do the rest of the shopping at leisure. Another reason is that if we see fresh goods first, the sight and smell of all those rosy apples and glossy aubergines give a "feel good" impression of freshness and quality which we carry around the store. Nowadays, trolleys should have a separate compartment where you can place fruit and vegetables so they don't get squashed.

Question 2. "Do they have to pipe smells of freshly baked bread around stores? I always end up buying an extra loaf or a cake because the smell is just so tempting.

Answer. That's what the store is counting on! It's well-known in the retail food industry that smell is the most powerful of human senses when it comes to influencing our choice of where we shop and what we buy. For years, some stores have been piping smells of freshly baked bread and real coffee through the air-conditioning to get appetites going. But this may be counterproductive, retail consultants point out: "If you are doing your shopping at lunch or dinner time when yon are already hungry, the smell of baking may send you straight to the bread counter and then out of the store so you can eat quickly."

Question 3. "Why is it that supermarkets change their layout so often? Just when I have speeded up my shopping by knowing where everything is, they move the section!"

Answer. This is another way of trying to make you buy things you thought you didn't need. Supermarkets make most of their money out of fresh foods and "luxury" snacks and far less on essentials like milk, sugar and bread. So everyday items are scattered around the store because in order to get them, you have to pass the "high earners" and, hopefully, suddenly decide to buy some. The eye-catching display on the unit at the end of a row does not necessarily mean that the goods are the bargain of the week, as you may think. Manufacturers sometimes pay the supermarket to put their brands in the best positions. Among the best are the places across the ends of units where customer traffic is very high.

Question 4. "Why does my supermarket have to play music all the time? It drives me mad and I can't avoid it since it's the only store I can reach conveniently."

Answer. This may be an attempt to please customers – so they will enjoy shopping more or a way of projecting an image. One supermarket plays 1960s music to go with its decor. Another sets out simply to please - playing 1950s and 1960s music in the morning when old customers do most of their shopping and pop music in the evenings and on Saturdays for a younger audience, and music that appeals to the whole family on a Sunday. Some stores use music to increase their profits by playing slow waltzes or light classics on quiet days like Mondays, to keep customers browsing and buying. At busier times like Saturdays, they'll increase the tempo to encourage customers to move quickly through the store. A recent supermarket study reported a 38% increase in sales when the store played slow music compared to fast. However, you can shop in silence at some supermarkets, which never play music – their customers say it puts them off.

Question 5. "Why do I always choose the queue that moves the slowest?"

Answer. Perhaps you're too considerate! For example, don't think the wider checkouts marked "disabled" are exclusively for wheelchairs. If there are no wheelchair customers waiting, anyone is welcome to use them. And if you're in a real hurry, avoid the check assistant wearing a 'trainee' badge - a sign of possible delay. Checkouts could become a thing of the past anyway. One supermarket is testing a hand-held unit which customers use themselves as they shop. It reads and records the prices of groceries and then totals the bill... but you still have to pay before you leave.

Statements

1. In most supermarkets you can buy fruit both at the entrance and at the exit of the store.

2. All trolleys are provided with a special compartment for fresh fruit and vegetables.

3. The smell of freshly baked bread in the supermarket always makes customers buy more bread than they originally wanted.

4. Supermarkets very often change their layout so that the customers could notice the things they don't usually buy.

5. Bargains of the week are usually displayed at the end of a row.

6. "High earners" are products that people buy every day.

7. Supermarkets never ask customers what kind of music they would like to listen to while they are making purchases.

8. Music in supermarkets can be a great influence on the time buyers spend in it and the number of the products they buy.

9. All customers can use all checkouts at any time.

10. All checkouts usually work with the same speed.

11. There are plans to replace checkouts with self-service equipment.

3. Answer the questions below.

1. Are there any supermarkets in the place you live? If yes, what are their names? Are they very big? How many storeys are there?

2. How far is the nearest supermarket situated from your house?

3. How often do you go to supermarkets?

4. What do you usually buy there?

5. When you enter a supermarket, do you usually take a trolley or a smaller shopping basket?

6. How well do you find your way about the supermarket you go to?

7. Do they often change the display and layout of the goods in the supermarket you go to?

8. What is your usual route in the supermarket you go to? What do you usually buy first and last in the supermarket?

9. Do you like the quality of the groceries you buy in the supermarket you go to?

10.How long do you usually have to queue at the checkout? How do you feel about it?

4. You are going to read about the manufacturers' tricks to sell their products.

a) Match the words from the text below with their synonyms or explanations.

1) obviously             a) a type of product made by a particular company

2) a customer  b) to change

3) to foot the bill c) things that are expensive and valuable but not essential

4) cost-effective d) always

5) to prosecute e) medicine that eases physical suffering

6) luxury         f) at the end of the period of time

7) enchanting  g) to take to court

8) to promote h) to offer a product for sale

9) a brand       i) clearly

10) eventually j) to pay for goods or services

11) to market  k) a person who buys things

12) a pain killer l) giving the best possible profit in comparison with the money that is spent

13) to vary     m) to form an idea of the cost, size and value of something

14) invariably o) attractive and pleasing

15) to estimate p) to help to sell a product by making it popular

b) Read about the manufacturers' tricks to sell their products

Are you Aware of all these Tricks?

Shopping is not as simple as you may think! There are all sorts of psychological and eye-deceiving tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand of product on the shelf. Colouring, for example, varies according to what the manufacturers are trying to sell. Most cosmetics are packaged in delicate pastel colours such as pink. Health foods come in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colours. Ice cream packets are often blue because we identify that as a cool colour; and luxury goods, like expensive chocolates, are invariably gold or silver.

When a brand of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that pastel colours turned the customer off because they made the product look weak and ineffective. Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package – blue because we associate it with safety, and white for calmness.

The size of a product can attract a shopper. But quite often a jar or bottle doesn't contain as much as it appears to. Recently a cosmetics company was successfully prosecuted for marketing a jar of make-up which gave the impression it contained far more than it actually did.

All the research behind the wording and presentation of packaging is obviously expensive, and there are no prizes for guessing that it is the customer who foots the bill. However, there are signs of revolution against fancy packaging: The Body Shop, for instance, sells its products in containers with handwritten labels. These bottles are practical as well as cost-effective and can be used again.

It is estimated that the more established cosmetics companies spend, on average, 70 per cent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging!

The most successful manufacturers know that it's not enough to have a good product. The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years have used enchanting little girls to promote their goods, summed it up. "Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius to sell it," he said.

 

5. Answer the questions below:

1. Do you use any cosmetics? If yes, what kinds? What are your favourite brands?

2. Describe the packaging of the soap you usually use. What colour is it? What patterns or drawings has it got?

3. What is your favourite ice-cream? What colour is its packaging?

4. When you are buying some product what do you first pay attention to: its colour, size or label?

5. Do you usually keep or throw away empty containers if you like their design or colour? If you keep them, what for?

6. How much does the packaging influence your choice in buying some products?

7. Is your attitude to advertising positive or negative? Explain why.

 

CONSUMER RIGHTS

2. Read about the consumer rights in the EU and make your own report on this topic in our country.

Consumer rights

In their role as consumers, ordinary EU citizens are key players in the Union's new frontier-free single market. The Union has in fact incorporated as the basis of its consumer policy, the protection of the five fundamental rights which lie at the heart of national policies. These are:

1. The protection of consumers' health and safety

Only products which will not endanger health or safety may be put on the market. This means setting safety requirements, providing full information about potential risks, protecting consumers against physical injury.

2. The protection of consumers' economic interests

There is for example a general ban on misleading advertising and unfair terms in contracts with consumers.

3. Consumer rights to information and education

Consumers need to be put in a position where they can make an informed choice among goods and services offered. This includes objective information on the features and price of the items available. Consumers also require proper information about their efficient and safe use.

4. The right to redress

Consumers have the right to receive advice and help when seeking redress for faulty products or for injury or damage resulting from the use of goods and services. There need to be simple, affordable and rapid procedures for settling complaints and claims.

5. Consumer representation and participation

Representatives of consumers need to be present in decision-taking procedures on issues of concern to them at local, national or EU level. At Union level, this covers not only specific consumer issues but also other relevant policy areas like food laws, transport, competition policy, financial services, environment and the like.

When the Community (the former name of European Union) adopted its first consumer programme in 1975, it focused on the practical application of the five principles. As a first result, a number of directives were adopted over the next 10 years covering among other things the safety of cosmetic products, the labeling of foodstuff, misleading advertising, consumer rights in door-step selling, product liability and the provision of consumer credit.

In addition to its programme of legislation on consumer protection, the Union took steps to make sure the interests of consumers are taken into account at local and EU level. It has supported the development of national consumer organizations and of five major EU-wide organizations with consumer interests.

These are:

The European Consumer's Organization (BEUC), The Confederation of Family Organizations in the European Union (Coface),The European Community of Consumer Cooperatives (Eurocoop), The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and The European Interregional Institute for Consumer" Affairs (EIICA).

Internally, the European Commission created an independent Consumer Policy Service in 1989 in order to give more authority and a higher profile to the implementation of consumer policy. According to the data of 1991, nearly 64 % of Community GDP (внутреннийнациональныйпродукт) is devoted to private consumption, the highest proportion being 70.3 % in Greece and the lowest 52.5 % in Denmark (63.4 % in UK). The remainder of the GDP is devoted mainly to financing investments and the collective consumption of general government.

On average, Europeans devote 20 % of their 'consumption' budget to food (ranging from 37.8 % in Greece to 16.6 % in Germany, 21.5 % in UK) whereas 17.2 % covers housing expenditure (27.8 % in Denmark as against 10.3 % in Portugal, 18.5 % in UK). There are also marked disparities in spending on leisure and education (4.3 % in Luxembourg compared with 10.5 % in Ireland, with a UK average of 9.7%).

There is plenty to be done, even after the legislative programme set out in the Maastricht Treaty on European Union is completed. The single market, like any other, needs to balance the interests of buyers and sellers if it is to operate efficiently. This means not only fixing additional rules for consumer protection but also ensuring that existing ones are applied correctly (which is not always the case).

2. Answer the questions below:

1. State five main principles of EU policy of consumer protection.

2. What organizations are involved in this process?

3. When was the first consumer programme adopted?

4. What is the 'consumption' structure in Great Britain?

5. What kind of legislative programme is mentioned in the text?

UNIT 2