The Science of Shopping 原文完整文字版

Part3

Read the text and answer the questions below.

The Science of Shopping

You may have wondered why so many supermarkets are virtually indistinguishable from each other. It is not, as some might suspect, that the companies operating them lack imagination. It is more that they are all well-versed in the science of persuading people to buy things – a science that, thanks to technological advances, is beginning to understand what motivates consumers when they make decisions on what to purchase.

It takes a while for the mind to get into a shopping mode. People need to make a gentle start and take stock of the surroundings. This is why some supermarkets have a so-called ‘chill zone’ for browsing magazines, books, and DVDs, an area which is also designed to catch the customer’s eye and tempt them to make impulsive purchases. But many will ignore it, in which case the first thing they encounter is the fresh fruit and vegetables section. For shoppers, this makes no sense. Fruit in particular can be easily bruised, so ideally should be bought at the end, not the beginning, of a shopping trip. But psychology is at work here: selecting wholesome fresh food is an uplifting way to start shopping, and it makes people feel less guilty about reaching for the less nutritious stuff later on.

Shoppers have worked out that everyday items, like milk, will invariably be placed in an aisle towards the back of a store to provide more opportunity to tempt customers on their way there. This is also why pharmacies are generally at the rear, even in ‘convenience’ stores. But supermarkets know shoppers know this, so they use other tricks, like placing popular items halfway along a section, thereby forcing people to walk along the aisle looking for them. The idea is to boost the length of time shoppers spend in a store.

Having walked to the end of the fruit and vegetable aisle, shoppers arrive at counters of prepared food, the fishmonger, and the butcher. Then there is the in-store bakery, which can be smelt before being seen. Even small supermarkets now use in-store bakeries. Mostly, these bake pre-prepared items, and they have boomed, although central bakeries that deliver to many stores are more efficient. The smell of freshly baked bread can make people hungry, encouraging them to buy not just bread but other food.

There are also numerous ways stores get shoppers to choose particular products. For example, stores encourage customers to buy expensive branded products by arranging them at eye-level, with cheaper ones lower down. Often, head offices specify where everything has to be placed, and spot-checks are carried out to make sure instructions are followed to the letter. But shelf-positioning is extremely controversial. Despite all the academic papers written on how best to stack shelves, retailers have their own views. While many stores consider eye-level to be the top spot, others think a little higher is better.

F

Technology is making the process of monitoring shopper behaviour easier, which is why the security cameras in stores may be doing considerably more than watching out for theft. Pictures showing shoppers while they are making their selections can now be analysed. It is possible to see how many shoppers went straight to one brand, the number that hesitated, and those that compared several brands. However, despite the availability of sophisticated technology, researchers have found that simply talking to consumers as they exit the store can yield valuable insights. This low-tech approach has become widespread following comments from stores that data collected electronically tells them little about why so many customers leave without making a purchase. Face-to-face interviews reveal that customers leave shops empty-handed more often because they are ‘unable to decide’ than because prices are too high.

G

People tell market researchers that they make decisions about what to buy based on logic and common sense, considering issues such as price, quality, or convenience. But there are clearly other factors which play a role, such as certain feelings and memories which individuals are not fully aware of. Researchers hired by big stores are now conducting studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which detects changes in the brain corresponding to increases or decreases in mental activity. Research participants are shown different products and asked questions about them, while scanners reveal their brain activity as they respond. Often, major contradictions are apparent between what they say and what they are thinking. This is immensely valuable information. Eight out of ten new consumer products launched on the market do not succeed, despite having been tested on people who insist they would buy them but who, deep down, may have reservations about the desirability of these products.

H

This ‘shopping science’ probably has its limits, however. Dr Eric Spangenberg of the University of Washington argues that while it’s unlikely that someone could be persuaded to buy something they don’t need, they might be convinced to choose one brand in preference to another without being aware that this is happening. This claim is also borne out by numerous research findings. But if consumers were to realise quite how much research is being done into the many psychological factors influencing their choices, they might be much more wary of making purchases in the future.

Questions 27–30

Choose the correct answer.

27 What does the writer suggest about supermarkets in the first paragraph?

They need to try harder to be different from one another.
They share a similar understanding of consumer psychology.
They depend too much on the latest technology.
They should do more to analyse how consumers think.

28 The writer says the function of the ‘chill zone’ in supermarkets is

to give customers time to decide what they want to buy.
to present customers with a range of interesting bargains.
to ensure customers feel under no pressure to buy anything.
to help customers slowly prepare themselves to go shopping.

29 According to the writer, placing fruit and vegetables near the front of the store

ensures the customers will feel good about the first products they buy.
reduces the risk of customers damaging these products later on.
encourages customers to buy more of these products than they intended.
makes customers consider healthier options in other sections they visit.

30 What point does the writer make about shoppers in the third paragraph?

They spend more time in stores than they realise.
They believe stores make life unnecessarily difficult for them.
They are aware of some of the techniques used by stores.
They are confused by frequent changes in the layout of stores.

Questions 31–35

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?

In boxes 31–35 on your answer sheet, write

31 Cheaper products are placed on lower shelves to minimise the likelihood that they will be bought.

YES

NOT GIVEN

32 Head offices should be more flexible about how products are arranged by supermarkets.

YES

NOT GIVEN

33 There is widespread agreement on how products should be arranged on shelves.

YES

NOT GIVEN

34 Security cameras are a serious threat to customers’ privacy.

YES

NOT GIVEN

35 Technology is the best tool for determining why shoppers fail to make purchases.

YES

NOT GIVEN

Questions 36–40

Complete the summary using the list of words and phrases, A–I, below.

New technology could help retailers sell more

Research is providing insights into what makes people purchase particular products. Most shoppers believe that their choices are the result of 36 ________. Research involving fMRI scanners, however, has revealed that certain 37 ________ influence shoppers’ decisions to a significant extent. In the research, a comparison was made between participants’ stated opinions of a product and data from 38 ________, which often indicated a radically different 39 ________. As most new products are 40 ________, this data could be extremely valuable for marketing departments.

A brain scans

B purpose

C unconscious factors

D questionnaire

E failures

F procedure

G rational decisions

H emotional reaction

I achievements