The traditional distinction between products that satisfy needs and those that satisfy wants is no longer adequate to describe classes of products. In today’s prosperous societies, the distinction has become unclear because so many wants have been turned into needs. A writer, for instance, can work with paper and pencils. These are legal needs for the task. But the work can be done more quickly and efficiently with a word processor. Thus a computer is soon viewed as a need rather than a want.
In the field of marketing, consumer goods are classed according to the way in which they are purchased. The two main classes are convenience goods and shopping goods. Two lesser types are specialty goods and unsought(主動(dòng)提供的) goods. It must be emphasized that all of these types are based on the way shoppers think about products, not on the nature of the products themselves. What is regarded as a convenience item in France (wine, for example) should be a specialty goods in the United States.
People do not spend a great deal of time shopping for such convenience items as groceries, newspapers, toothpaste, aspirin, and candy. The buying of convenience goods may be done routinely, as some families buy groceries once a week. Such regularly purchased items are called staples. Sometimes convenience products are bought without enough thinking; someone has a sudden desire for an ice cream sundae(圣代) on a hot day. Or they may be purchased as emergency items.
Shopping goods are items for which customers search. They compare prices, quality, and styles, and may visit a number of stores before making a decision. Buying an automobile is often done this way.
Shopping goods fall into two classes; those that are recognized as basically the same and those that are regarded as different. Items that are looked upon as basically the same include such things as home appliances, television sets, and automobiles. Having decided on the model desired, the customer is primarily interested in getting the item at the most favorable price. Items regarded as essentially different include clothing, furniture, and dishes. Quality, style and fashion will either take precedence(優(yōu)先) over price, or they will not matter at all.
小題1:It can be learned from the first paragraph that ______.
A．a(chǎn) writer needs a word processor
B．needs and wants can’t be separated clearly
C．the way to distinguish the products is unimportant
D．a(chǎn) computer is a need rather than a want
小題2:The example of wine is used to illustrate that ______.
A．goods are classified differently in different countries
B．the types of the product lie on the people rather than its nature
C．Frenchmen often drink but Americans sometimes do
D．one product may belong to many types
小題3:Staples are items that ______.
A．a(chǎn)re convenient to purchase
B．a(chǎn)re purchased without enough thinking
C．people “want but don’t need”
D．people are in constant need of
小題4:Shopping goods that are considered as basically the same are those that ______.
A．consumers don’t care where to buy them
B．consumers spend much time searching for
C．satisfy similar needs of the consumer
D．can be found in nearly every shop
