What factors influence the decisions we make?
Needs & Wants: What we must have & what we would like to have.
Resources: Amount of € and time available.
Values/Priorities: What is important to us.
Other People: Family and peer groups.
Emotions: May feel strongly about something.
Fashion: In clothes, music and food.
Merchandising: Easy payment options, discounts.
Advertising: Can persuade us to buy things we may not need.
Culture: We buy certain things at certain times e.g. Christmas
What factors should we consider when shopping?
Budget, quality, value, design, comfort, environment, maintenance, purpose, guarantee, safety.
Explain each type of shopping outlet and give and example, an advantage and a disadvantage for each.
See table in copy!
Name 5 changes in shopping practises.
- Restaurants, crèches and toilets are provided
- Many shops open late, on Sundays and for 24hrs.
- Home delivery services
- Widespread use of customer loyalty cards
- Free parking provided by shops
What are the advantages of self service?
- Quick & convenient
- Customer has more time to spend on selection
- Self-service checkouts may reduce queuing time
What are the disadvantages of self-service?
- Less personal contact
- More temptation to impulse buy
- Can be long queues at checkouts
What are the advantages of counter service?
- Personal service
- Advice offered
- Less effort for the shopper
What are the disadvantages of counter service?
- Higher prices
- More staff is needed which leads to higher costs
- Smaller selection of goods
Name 3 techniques that encourage customers to spend more.
- Essentials such as bread and milk are often far from the entrance do the customers must walk right through the shop
- Essentials are at lower shelves as luxuries are at eye level
- Sweets and magazines or health and beauty items placed near the checkout for last minute impulse buys
Name 5 guidelines for shopping.
- Always make a list and stick to it
- Avoid impulse buying
- Look for quality and freshness
- Shop around and compare prices and value for money
- Avoid shopping when tired or hungry
What are the functions of packaging?
- Advertises the product
- Protects goods from damage
- Keeps products (food) clean and fresh
- Provides information on product e.g. Ingredients
What are the characteristics of good packaging?
Packaging should be strong, waterproof, hygienic, easy to open, easy to reseal is desired and biodegradable.
What are the types of packaging?
- Glass: Bottles and jars, plain or tinted glass
- Paper: May be plain, waxed, cardboard or laminated e.g. Tetrapak
- Metal: Tin cans, aluminium cans, foil trays, aluminium trays
- Plastic: Bottles, jars, bags, cartons, cling film, vacuum packing.
Why is labelling important?
- Identify the product
- Advertise the product
- Describe what the goods are made of
- Warn of the dangers of using or misusing the product
- Give advice on how to use and care for the product e.g. Cooking
- Tell where product was made
- Carry bar codes
What are the disadvantages of overpacking?
- Uses natural resources e.g. Paper & plastic
- Dads to price of product
- May be difficult to open/reseal
- Can be deceptive e.g. Large packets may have little contents
- Cause litter and pollution
- When heated aerosols have chemicals that damage the environment
Name and explain the 4Rs
Refuse: Over-packaged goods and unnecessary plastic bags
Reduce: The amount of pre-packed items
Reuse: Plastic bags and other containers
Recycle: As much as you can
What are barcodes?
A small rectangle found on most products. Contain information such as product name, price weight and origin. They ensure till receipts are accurate and help the retailer with stock control and ordering.
What are own brands?
Products made by shops e.g. Tesco. These products are usually packaged simply and are often cheaper then similar branded products.
What is unit pricing?
When some unpacked goods such as fruit & veg, meat & fish are priced according to the unit of measurement e.g. 98c per kg.
What is bulk buying?
This means buying large quantities of a product usually because it’s cheaper e.g. Toilet roll, detergents.
What is loss leaders?
When a shop sells product cheaper to attract customers. The retailer hopes the consumer will buy more when they come inside the shop.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of cash?
A= Quick & easy D= Cash can be lost or stolen easily
Whatever the advantages and disadvantages of cheques?
A= Safer and more convenient then cash D= Easy to overspend
What are the advantages and disadvantages of credit cards?
A= Customer has 28 days to pay for balance on card D= Is balanced is not payed on time, interest is charged
