Consumer skills: Decision-making when Buying Food

 

Situation

You consider the options available when buying food.

 

What you must decide

Learn to make informed buying decisions resulting in the best deal for you as a consumer. Single out¹⁷ the steps in decision-making.

 

Work in pairs (Student A and Student В)

A: - To understand how buying decisions are made you were asked at your economics to make a shopping list of 10 basic food items, then go to several shops and find out the range of unit costs for each item. You consult your mother (or any other relative, or any experienced friend, etc....)

 

¹⁷ to single out – выбирать, отбирать

 

В: - You help your partner make a shopping list of basic food items.Being a wise consumer is never easy. A wide variety of prices, brands, sizes, and advertising gimmicks¹⁸ influence you when you enter a store. Learning to make informed decisions about buying food will result in economic skills that last¹⁹ a lifetime. Consider the options available, when buying a loaf of bread.

 

 

A: - You think that to begin with you should consider the first step

«What kind?» The variety of bread available in the supermarket is

confusing.

 

- French, rye, white, fancy²⁰ or plain. Brands A, B, C, X, Y, Z!

 

 

В: - First you have to decide what kind of bread you need. The occa-sion or purpose can determine the kind of bread you will buy.

 

 

A: -This has your full support. If you know that your grandmother, who loves rye bread, is coming to visit you, you might want to get some for her.

 

 

В: -Focus your interlocutor’s attention on another factor influencingbuyer’s decision - advertising. Brands А, В, С have been around for a long time and you trust their names. Brand X, however, just

 

sponsored a sport event on local television, so you may be more aware²¹ of that product. Brand Z is a newcomer, maybe you want to try it. Assure your partner that advertising influences what you think about various products. Eventually²² it influences what you buy.

 

¹⁸ advertising gimmicks – рекламные уловки

¹⁹ to last – сохраняться

²⁰ fancy bread – сдоба

²¹ to be aware – знать, быть осведомленным

²² eventually – в конечном счете, в конце концов

 

A: - Still you assume that you are a smart consumer²³ and know how to use advertising for your purposes. You keep in mind that ads are usually one-sided and emphasize only the good qualities of a product. Explain how ads try to attract consumers by appealing to their emotions. For instance, diet bread ad shows thin people play-ing at the beach. Give other examples.

 

 

В: -The next step under discussion should be «How much?». Afterdeciding what kind of bread to buy, consumers generally consider the price. You attract your partner’s attention to the point that some stores indicate the unit price for the items on the shelves. Ask your partner to take into consideration that although quality or kind of bread contributes to²⁴ the price, generally the larger the quantity, the less per unit cost. Buying in quantity can often help us spend less.

 

 

A: - Point out that another consideration figuring²⁵ into what we buy is the quality of the product. Suggest that the next step can be: «How good?». Sometimes evaluating the quality of a product can be dif-ficult for the customer. For instance, most food products list natu-ral as well as artificial ingredients. Some provide nutritional in-formation. The consumer’s decision is a matter of personal taste.

However, you are quite sure that the higher the quality, the higher the price.

 

 

В: -You reckon that in the end, the decision what to buy and at whatprice and quality level is a personal one. So you propose to consid-er one more step: «Make a decision». From what you know many factors influence buying decisions, and choices are not simple for consumers. It’s absolutely true that smart buyers must obtain product information and then compare and evaluate that infor-mation.

 

²³ smart consumer – зд.: опытный (мудрый) покупатель

²⁴ to contribute to – содействовать, способствовать

²⁵ to figure – зд.: играть видную роль

 

Appendix 2