For many consumers, low prices are often equal to cheap products. While everyone loves a good bargain (特价商品), low prices can harm how your product is viewed. Instead of getting a great deal, customers often believe that you get what you pay for. Though everyday low-pricing strategies can work for some companies, they’re not always the best idea for certain lines of business.
Consumer perceptions play a significant role in strategic pricing. Despite all the promotions surrounding great deals, it turns out that cheaper isn’t always better. Research from Vanderbilt University suggests that low prices can backfire because consumers sometimes see them as signs of low-quality products. However, researchers also found that consumers sometimes see low prices as simply good deals. Shoppers’ perceptions depend on what they’re thinking about when deciding whether or not to buy a product.
If consumers come across a low-priced product or service, they may see it as either a good deal or not worth their time and money. How consumers think about price is just as important as the actual price itself.
Consumers rarely have complete information and use various strategies to fill gaps in their knowledge when considering products. One strategy involves using naive theories: informal explanations used by consumers to make sense of their environment. A consumer may perceive an upscale (高档的) company’s prices are too high or assume discount retailers’ (零售店) products are inferior (次的) due to its reputation being associated with lower quality items than other stores selling similar goods.
Companies can influence how customers feel about their low prices by conducting market research and improving marketing strategies focused on highlighting product quality rather than just value alone which tends towards making people rate cheaper products more favorably. When companies focus on the product quality in marketing materials, consumers look more favorably upon more expensive products. However, when companies focus on value, consumers rate cheap products more favorably.
Businesses can also identify their customer base and narrow their marketing efforts to become perceived as a specialist. This leaves customers less likely to question pricing strategies because they trust that the company knows what it’s doing and has done its research into what works best for them.
1. What does research from Vanderbilt University suggest?| A．Strategic pricing determines shoppers’ perceptions. |
| B．Promotions are linked with high-quality products. |
| C．Consumers only see low prices as a real bargain. |
| D．Consumers’ perceptions of low prices vary greatly. |
| A．Produce an opposite result. | B．Cause a serious explosion. |
| C．Meet people’s expectations. | D．Have a positive effect. |
| A．By emphasizing product quality. | B．By targeting a wider audience. |
| C．By offering more promotions. | D．By lowering prices even further. |
| A．Low prices are always a good thing for businesses |
| B．Low prices can sometimes scare off customers |
| C．Companies should focus on value rather than quality |
| D．Companies should ignore consumers’ perceptions of price |
相似题推荐
Overnight, eating fried chicken in the People’s Square is OUT; instead, people started to drink HEEKCAA and eat Bao Master. This year, the queues in front of the doors of “Wanghong delicacies” were so dense that a cup of tea has been hyped to over 80 Yuan by scalpers (黄牛) and local bloggers even customized a one-day tour to eat in Shanghai.
To a great extent, Wanghong phenomenon depends on merchants’ business strategy.
10-20 Yuan is the exchange value of milk tea, but it’s the symbol value of the goods that encourages people to “pull the grass”. Just like the lipstick, mailbox and graffiti wall that have been on the list of Wanghong, people want to use relatively controllable spending to gain satisfaction from a moments’ thumb up.
With the development of society, consumers are not just buying a product but its brand culture and quality of life, so the appearance of light consuming is inevitable. However, “Wanghong economy” is always short-lived because this consumer group is changeable in affection. Consumers who come by “physical attractiveness” will quickly vanish if there is no implicit value or connotation to support.
| A．Still, Wanghong delicacies (佳肴) hold strong appeal to young consumers as long as they are of high quality and good tastes. |
| B．After they buy the product and send a picture to the moments, perhaps their “existential anxiety” will be cured. |
| C．Merchants have to figure out the true value and selling point of their products. |
| D．It is just because people are too idle and “Wanghong delicacies” are too attractive. |
| E．Wanghong phenomenon also rests with customers’ mindset and behaviour. |
| F．It is obvious that queuing is a kind of hunger marketing strategy. |
Researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management wanted to understand why group buying sites that have entered the market recently have enjoyed greater success than those operating a decade ago, such as Mercata and MobShop.
Earlier attempts typically left potential buyers waiting for days before confirming whether or not they had got the offer they had signed up for.
“We think one of the reasons group-buying has been successful recently is because of the short time horizon,” says Rotman Professor Ming Hu, who co-wrote the study with Professor Mengze Shi and PhD student Jiahua Wu. “It allows for a herding effect.”
Another reason is the use of an information structure that discloses to later arrivals how many have already signed onto the deal.
Researchers looked at two ways of designing the purchasing mechanism for a group buy:a simultaneous mechanism, where no one knows how many buyers have come before them, and asequential（连续的） mechanism, where a second group of buyers has the advantage of knowing the size of the first group.
The researchers' analytical（分析的） model shows the most successful mechanism is the sequential one because it
“That boosts confidence,” says Professor Hu, who teaches operations management. Deals for "luxury" services, versus everyday items, work better in a group buy scenario（方案） because they offer consumers a greater benefit.
1. It can be learned from the text that ______.
| A．the short time horizon is the reason why group-buying has been successful. |
| B．a simultaneous mechanism is where a group of buyers has the advantage of knowing how many people have signed up. |
| C．a sequential mechanism allows a herding effect which boosts the confidence of the buyers. |
| D．researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management carried out an experiment about why group buying sites entered the market successfully, such as Mercata and MobShop. |
| A．to become or to make something greater in amount, number, value |
| B．to remove or get rid of something |
| C．to deliberately not include something in what you are doing or considering |
| D．to make something known to somebody |
| A．Secret for marketing success – boosting confidence. |
| B．Secret for group-buying mechanism—herding effect. |
| C．Comparison between a simultaneous mechanism and a sequential mechanism. |
| D．What others do influences our decisions. |
【推荐3】Do you like shopping? Or does the thought of wandering round the shops fill you with terror? For some of us, shopping is an enjoyable way of spending our spare time and our money. For me, it’s something I would rather avoid. Thank goodness for the Internet! It’s more convenient to buy CDs, electrical items, and even food from the comfort of your sofa. But that’s not the only reason: price is an important factor. We can buy goods and services cheaper online. But sometimes the problem is knowing what to buy. This has led to a type of shopping called “showrooming”.
Showrooming is something I’ve done. I will go to a shop to see, touch and try out products but then go home and buy them online at a knock-down price. I’m not alone in doing this. Research by a company called Foolproof found 24% of the people showroomed at Christmas in 2013.
Amy Cashman, Head of Technology at TNS UK, says the reasons for this new shopping habit are that people are lacking time, lacking money and they want security about the products they are buying. She explains that consumers are not only shopping online at home but they are using the Internet in store or on their smart phones to shop around.
But does this mean technology will kill shops? Certainly shops will change. They will have to offer more competitive prices or encourage people to buy more by giving in-store discounts or free gifts.
We mustn’t forget that buying in a shop means you can get expert advice from the sales assistant and you can get good aftercare. It’s good to speak to a real human rather than look at a faceless computer screen, but at least by showrooming, you get the best of both worlds.
1. The two questions in Paragraph 1 are raised to ________.| A．introduce the topic |
| B．give two examples |
| C．compare different opinions |
| D．get answers from readers |
| A．Trying in shops and buying online. |
| B．Showing products in a room. |
| C．Buying something in a store. |
| D．Shopping on the Internet. |
| A．The lack of time. |
| B．The comfort of the sofa. |
| C．The lack of money. |
| D．The security of the product. |
| A．Online shops will disappear. |
| B．Free gifts will surely promote sales. |
| C．Shops need necessary changes. |
| D．Shops will be replaced by online shops. |
【推荐1】Worth nearly $1trn, Facebook is the world’s sixth-most-valuable company. Its revenues have grown by 56% in the past year, and its share price by more than a quarter. Nearly 3bn people use its products every month. Why did such a successful company change its name as Meta?
The likely official reason for the rebranding is that the firm has outgrown the social network that Mark Zuckerberg started 17 years ago in a Harvard dorm. Today it includes other social apps (Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger) and video hardware (Oculus, Portal). It has launched a digital wallet (Novi) and may yet offer a currency (Diem). Mr Zuckerberg expects people eventually to associate his firm more with the “metaverse”(元宇宙), a virtual space for work, play and more, than with social media.
Facebook wouldn’t be the first tech giant to do so. In 2015 Google set up Alphabet, a holding company for the search engine and its many side projects. Under this model, Facebook would become just another app within a wider family, though by far it has been the biggest earner.
There is another possible motive for a makeover. For all its financial success, the Facebook brand has become tarnished. The social network is blamed for fueling everything from teenage anorexia(厌食症) to uprising at the US Capitol. Public trust in it is lower than in most tech giants, and falling. Although two years ago the firm started branding its apps as being “from Facebook”, its new smart glasses, which can record video and take phone calls, feature only the logo of its partner, Ray-Ban. A former employee revealed that Facebook was trying to cover up a drop in young American users.
Mr Zuckerberg himself has been a reason for much of the criticism of Facebook, and of bossy tech firms more generally. As the all-powerful founder, he has a higher profile than his opposite numbers at TikTok, YouTube and other social networks. Normally, a brand facing a reputational crisis might dump its unpopular CEO. But Mr Zuckerberg’s position is immovable, which may explain why he would want to dump the brand instead.
1. Facebook changed its name because________.| A．it wanted people to associate its name with universe |
| B．it was trying to follow the fashion led by Google |
| C．it expected to expand its business to a wider range |
| D．its former name has brought bad reputation to the company |
| A．It was founded by Zuckerberg in Harvard’s dormitory. |
| B．It has a positive influence on teenagers’ mind and actions. |
| C．It is as popular among young people in the US as it was. |
| D．It produced smart glasses with two companies’ logos on it. |
| A．distinguished | B．abandoned | C．globalized | D．spoiled |
| A．a science review | B．a business magazine |
| C．a technical report | D．the website of Facebook |
【推荐2】Previous studies have found that the number of years spent in school relates to cognition (认知) later in life, but few studies have examined the influence of educational quality.
“Our study establishes a link between high-quality education and better later-life cognition and suggests that increased investment in schools could be a powerful strategy to improve cognitive health among older adults in the United States,” said Jennifer Manly, senior author of the study.
The study, led by Manly and Dominika Šeblová, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia, used data from Project Talent, a 1960 survey of high school students across the United States, and follow-up data collected in the Project Talent Aging Study. The researchers examined the relationships between six indicators (指标) of school quality and several measures of cognitive performance in participants nearly 60 years after they left high school. Since high-quality schools may be especially beneficial for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the researchers also examined whether associations differed by geography, gender, race and ethnicity.
The researchers found that attending a school with a higher number of teachers with graduate training was the most consistent predictor of better later-life cognition, especially in language fluency (for example, coming up with words within a category). Attending a school with a high number of graduate-level teachers was about equal to the difference in cognition between a 70-year-old and someone who is one to three years older. Other indicators of school quality were related to some, but not all, measures of cognitive performance.
According to Manly and Šeblová, there may be many reasons explaining why attending schools with well-trained teachers may affect later-life cognition. “Instruction provided by more experienced and knowledgeable teachers might be more intellectually inspiring and provide additional neural or cognitive benefits,” said Šeblová, “and attending higher-quality schools may also influence life track, leading to university education and greater earnings, which are in turn linked to better cognition in later life.”
1. How did Manly and Šeblová conduct the research?| A．By conductıng surveys. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By explaining examples. | D．By interviewıng the elders. |
| A．The physical health determines your future life. |
| B．Good education contributes to good later-life cognition. |
| C．Language fluency is based on postgraduate training. |
| D．Good schools should have many well-trained teachers. |
| A．To remind the public of seniors’ health. | B．To look into investment in schools. |
| C．To achieve the fairness of humans. | D．To attach importance to education. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Uncaring. | D．Opposing |
【推荐3】For more than a century, student journalists at the Daily Tar Heel (DTH) have written about life at UNC-Chapel Hill, US and raised questions on the issues of free expression, education, and big-time athletics.
The independent student newspaper recently celebrated its 125th anniversary(周年). To mark the special day, student reporters asked the question: What’s the future of the DTH? The proud newspaper has been searching for the answer, and so have college newspapers across the US.
Student newspapers are facing a dark reality. As they are free to read, they are making less money than ever, meaning that such newspapers are finding it hard to survive.
Most college papers have reduced their print editions (版本). Last year, the DTH printed a paper four days a week. This year, it prints a paper every three days. And while it used to produce around 22,000 newspapers each time, it only makes around 10,000 now, said Erica Perel, general manager.
Increasingly, student journalists have turned their focus to digital versions of their newspapers, and the new ways that social media allows them to tell stories. They’ve adapted (使适应) their skills to mirror what’s going on in the professional journalism world.
“I think we’re adapting very well … in moving away from that print mentality (心态). But it’s challenging,” said Jonathan Carter, a student at North Carolina State University.
So what should student newspapers do? LoMonte said the best solution would be for universities to financially(经济上) support student journalism.
University leaders like to talk about producing civically (公民地) responsible students, he said, and journalism is a part of that. “Colleges and universities have to recognize independent media coverage as a civic good and step up to the plate,” he said.
In the meantime, campus newspapers are figuring out their financial models as they go along.
Bruce dePyssler, adviser to North Carolina Central Universit’s Campus Echo newspaper, said his students post one story a day online. The best stories are put together for a once-a-semester(学期) print edition.
And even if student journalists don’t go into media jobs, Perel said, they’ve still had a great education.
“The number one thing that we teach is critical(批判性) thinking and how to be a lifelong learner,” she said. “ The ones who are living through this transition (过渡) are the ones that are going to be a lot stronger for it in the end.”
1. What can be read about at the Daily Tar Heel (DTH)?| A．Some famous sports facilities. | B．Articleon the reporters of the paper |
| C．Columns about the free subjects. | D．Students’ college life. |
| A．Poor printing quality. | B．The impact of digital media. |
| C．Expensive advertising fees. | D．A lack of student reporters. |
| A．Reduce print editions. | B．Ask colleges for money. |
| C．Publish more digital editions. | D．Create their own financial models. |
| A．They become good at storytelling. | B．They gain problem-solving skills. |
| C．They become a logical thinker. | D．They learn how to be a lifelong learner. |
| A．The proud history of the Daily Tar Heel. |
| B．Student reporters adapting to changing situations. |
| C．School newspapers under threat in the digital age in the US |
| D．An example of how to combine traditional newspapers with new media. |
