Academic Vocabulary: Academic Words - Olsen Amy E. 2012

Chapter 25. Business

Shopping Made Easier

Business Today

One of a merchant's goals is to gamer consumer confidence. Customers will spend their money if they feel comfortable in a shopping environment. There are several ways stores can be designed to better accommodate consumers' needs.

Businesses need to allow sufficient space between the aisles. Studies have found that if customers accidentally brush up against each other it detracts from the shopping experience. If a customer is repeatedly jostled while looking at a product, he or she will leave the store without making a purchase. If the retail space is conducive to browsing, then the customer will spend more time in the store, which usually translates to buying more. Retailers can also attribute greater sales to something as easy as placing shopping baskets throughout a store, not just at the entrance. Customers will buy more if they have a container for their purchases. A shopper may come into the store planning to buy one or two items and not pick up a basket. But if a few more items attract a customer's interest and a basket is nearby, the person will usually pick up the basket and fill it. A customer is limited by having two hands. If the retailer provides a basket or cart, that limitation ceases to be a problem.

People love to use their senses when shopping. Retailers need to become proponents of the five senses. Obviously, a woman wants to touch a shirt before she buys it, but she wants to do the same with the sheets she will sleep on, and that's hard to do if the sheets are wrapped in plastic. Most stores don't provide a sample sheet to touch, and that's when a shopper feels it is her prerogative to make a small hole in the plastic so she can run her fingers over the fabric. Unfortunately, several items that people desire to touch, from silverware to paper, are packaged in ways that prevent shoppers from feeling them. A few stores have noted the popularity of offering food samples, especially for new products, but most are not taking advantage of this sensory-shopping method. Just seeing a package of the latest veggie burger in the freezer case is unlikely to excite a man, but if he is given a free taste, he may discover how good it is. More goods will be sold if people can touch, taste, smell, and hear products, as well as see them.

Another area where a retailer's business acumen can shine is at the checkout line. The checkout line is the customer's last encounter with a store, and it can destroy a good shopping experience? If customers have to wait too long, they will not return to a store, and they may even give up on what

they have already brought to the line. To quell the anger of the bored consumer, retailers need to make the waiting time seem shorter. A simple way to decrease waiting anxiety is to provide reading material. Grocery stores already do this with magazines at the checkout stands, but it is also feasible for other types of stores. Retailers can hang posters behind the cashiers announcing special events (book signings, garden talks, food demonstrations) or provide flyers of upcoming sales on a rack where customers can grab one to read while they wait. The checkout line is also a great place for impulse buying. Retailers should put racks of small items within easy reach of those waiting in line. Few people are going to get out of line to investigate a belt, a bookmark, or a mouse pad, but if the item is near enough to touch, a person might decide to purchase it and be less bored while waiting.

Application Exercise

Visit a retail establishment and see which of the shopper-friendly methods mentioned in the reading are being employed and which are being ignored. Spend at least an hour in the store watching consumer behavior. What do people touch? How do they respond to waiting in line? Be ready to report your findings to the class.

Predicting

For each set, write the definition on the line next to the word to which it belongs. If you are unsure, return to the reading on page 152, and underline any context clues you find. After you've made your predictions, check your answers against the Word List on page 157. Place a checkmark in the box next to each word whose definition you missed. These are the words you'll want to study closely.

Set One

takes away

to get

a customer

bumped or brushed against

tending to promote

□ 1. garner (line 1) ...

□ 2. consumer (line 2) ...

□ 3. detracts (line 10) ...

□ 4. jostled (line 12) ...

□ 5. conducive (line 14) ...

Set Two

possible

a special right

advocates

shrewdness

to credit

□ 6. attribute (line 18) ...

□ 7. proponents (line 33) ...

□ 8. prerogative (line 40) ...

□ 9. acumen (line 57) ...

□ 10. feasible (line 70) ...

Self-Tests

1 In each group, circle the word that does not have a connection to the other three words.

1. advocate   attacker   proponent   defender

2. consumer   shopper   producer   customer

3. push shove   jostle   share

4. impossible   suitable   attainable   feasible

5. detract    divert   distract   promote

6. insight    shrewdness  stupidity   acumen

7. give acquire  get    gamer

8. right privilege  prerogative  restraint

9. quality    attribute   characteristic  whole

10. helpful   worthless  conducive   useful

2 Finish the ad copy using the vocabulary words. Use each word once.

Vocabulary list

feasible

prerogative

acumen

conducive

detract

proponent

garner

jostle

attribute

consumer

1. The smart ... knows that to impress your guests you should serve a Gobbler Turkey for Thanksgiving.

2. It's a woman's ... to change her mind, but you won't once you try Derriere Jeans.

3. A warm cup of Matthew's Cocoa—nothing is more ... to a relaxing evening.

4. Making an experience educational doesn't have to ... from the fun. We combine education and fun at Kids Creative Software. Visit us today to see how.

5. ... points with the kids by serving a cold pitcher of Paradise Lemonade today.

6. Family members ... each other to be the first to read Natural History Alive; give your family a subscription today.

7. You didn't think a trip to Europe was ... this summer. Think again! Quest Travel has tours for as little as $75 a day with all meals included.

8. You can ... tomorrow's success to today's decisions. Northernmost College—an institution that helps you build a future.

9. Visit Smartalert.com for books on every subject. We've always been a(n) ... of brighter minds.

10. Combining business ... with understanding people. Invest with Quistex and watch your money grow.

3 Put yourself in the following situations, and match each situation to the word that applies.

Set One

1. You buy three shirts and two pair of pants.

2. At the City Council meeting, you argue in favor of preserving an open area as a park instead of building a shopping mall.

3. As guest of honor, you get to decide where to eat.

4. People at a party tell you that your kindness is one of your qualities they most admire.

5. You wear a beat-up hat with your tuxedo.

Vocabulary list

proponent

detract

attribute

consumer

prerogative

Set Two

6. You contemplate whether you can attend a meeting at 6 p.m. and still make it to the movies with a friend at 8 p.m., twenty miles away.

7. You manage to get tickets to the sold-out concert.

8. You invest $150 in stocks, and by following the market, you end up with $2500 in one year.

9. You push your way through the crowd to the clearance rack.

10. You take a warm bath to help you go to sleep.

Vocabulary list

garner

jostle

conducive

feasible

acumen

Collocations

Classical music can be conducive to a relaxing evening. (Chapter 25)

It is considered to be a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. (Chapter 25)

If a store owner doesn’t have much business acumen, he or she should hire someone to take charge of financial matters. (Chapter 25)

Word Pairs

Proponent/Opponenf. A proponent (Chapter 25) is “one who argues in favor of something.” An opponent is “one who is against something.” The proponent argued for the benefits of an extended after school program. His opponent said the plan was too expensive.

Interesting Etymologies

Acumen (Chapter 25) comes from Latin acumen, “a point, sting,” which has a root in acuere, “to sharpen.” Acumen then means “keen insight; sharpness.”

Interactive Version: Put yourself in the consumer's frame of mind. Use one of the two photographs to write a sales pitch about the product. Use at least five of the vocabulary words in your pitch. Be creative as you think of ways to gamer consumer interest.

Word Part Reminder

Below are a few exercises to help you review the word parts you have been learning. Fill in the missing word part from the list, and circle the meaning of the word part found in each sentence. Try to complete the questions without returning to the Word Parts chapter. This reminder focuses on roots from all three Word Parts chapters. Refer to the Word Parts list on the inside back cover to find the page number if you need to look back at any of the chapters.

sta   due   mut  not

1. When I was chosen to lead a lesson on similes, I decided the best way to con ...t the lesson was with a worksheet where people could create comparisons based on my starter ideas.

2. It was a ... eworthy event, and, to mark the day, I took my daughter out for a special dinner. We were both so proud of her first concert performance.

3. I can always count on Bob to stand up for me; he has been a con...nt friend.

4. I love to see how ordinary animals, like cats and dogs, change in horror films as they become huge ...ant beasts.

Words to Watch

Which words would you like to practice with a bit more? Pick 3-5 words to study, and list them below.

Write the word and its definition, and compose your own sentence using the word correctly. This extra practice could be the final touch to learning a word.