#18 - For consumers, the most enjoyable emotional experience

[Administrator]

Please post below with any questions!

[maximbasu]

Hi,
I chose E while the correct answer is C.

The stimulus states:
1. Shoppers like to feel lucky (who doesn't?)
2. Retailers use this for own benefit: they use ads to promote discounts
3. Result: shoppers feel lucky BUT retailers lose $$$ + customer loyalty is lost

Task: ID the conclusion

E seemed to say capture the overall idea: the strategy of placing ads doesn't work for retail success in the long-run.
Is E wrong because is doesn't answer WHY the strategy doesn't work?

Is C correct because it answer the WHY question? It seemed wrong and incomplete because it didn't conclude "...and that's why the strategy usually doesn't work."

[Jon Denning]

Hey MB!

The problem with (E) is that it's too strong, too broad in scope, for this argument. The critique in the last sentence isn't of "making consumers feel lucky," it's of "using advertised price cuts" specifically ("Promotions of this sort...").

(C) on the other hand speaks directly to the one approach this argument cautions against: advertised price cuts. It doesn't go so far as to completely condemn them--they might make bargain-minded consumers feel lucky, after all--but does imply that they're not a perfect solution, hence "are overused" (from C).

Be careful not to overstate the author's point.

Note too that the question of "why?" we can ask to test the answers is provided in the stimulus: advertised price cuts reduce profit margins and undermine loyalty. Which answer choice does that information support? Answer choice (C).

If you asked "why?" for (E) the information in the stimulus would make no sense:

(E) "Making consumers feel lucky is usually not a good formula for retail success."
"Why?"
(Stimulus) "Advertised price cuts cut into profits and customer loyalty"
"....But what does that have to do with making them feel lucky?"

I hope that helps!

[mokkyukkyu]

Hi, I chose D...why is D wrong? isnt it directly from the stimulus?
also C isnot writtwn in the argument...they usually pull sentence out from the stimulus for this type of question I thought

Also could you explain whatD means?:(

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi mokkyukkyu,

The correct answer to a Main Point question needs to capture the conclusion, or the summary, of the argument. Although answer choice (D) is directly provable by reference to the stimulus, this is not the conclusion - it is a premise offered in support of the claim that retailers resort to this marketing tactic "too often." This is the conclusion of the argument - that the price cut tactic is something retailers do too often. In other words, it's an overused tactic - what answer choice (C) says.

Avoid keyword matching: test-makers can convey the same exact idea in multiple ways. The conclusion in Main Point questions will rarely be restated verbatim in the correct answer choice. That would be too easy

Hope this clears it up!

Thanks,

[mhassan72]

I completely bombed this question, I picked D under timed conditions then I picked E during review, what i feel like I missed however was that the stim does say "too often they resort", this seems to imply something is overused, and why I feel like C would be justified over E and D, is this a correct way of reasoning through this question?

[Clay Cooper]

Hi mhassan72,

Yep, you've nailed it. The author is expressing his or her opinion that retailers overuse this technique, and supporting that opinion with facts.

Good job!