Advice for consumers

[A] Most mothers have a good piece of advice: Never go into a supermarket hungry! If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to. Unfortunately, however, just this simple advice isn’t enough for consumers these days. Modern shoppers need an education in how--and how not—to buy things at the grocery store. First, you should check out the weekly newspaper ads. Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need those things. In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual. Next, in the market, carefully read the information on the package, and don’t let words like “New and improved” or “All Natural” on the font of a package influence you. Instead, read the list of ingredients on the back. Third, compare prices; that is, you should examine the prices of both of different brands and different sizes of the same brand.
Generic items and brand names

[B] Another suggestion for consumers is to buy generic items instead of famous brands. Generic items in supermarket come in plain packages. These products are cheaper because manufactures don’t spend much money on packaging or advertising. The quality, however, is usually identical to the quality of well-known name brands. In the same way, when buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands that are not famous. Shopping in discount clothing stores can also help you save a lot of money. Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, the prices are low, and you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores.
Intelligent consumerism

[C] Wise consumers read magazines advertisements and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage: knowledge of the psychology behind the ads. In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation. They ask themselves questions: Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image? Is this product more expensive than it should be because it has a famous name? With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice.
Consumer protection laws

[D] To protect consumers, there are many laws (usually state laws)about advertising. For instance, if a store advertises a special product at a certain price, the store must have a reasonable number of items to sell so that it doesn’t run out of them right away. A sale ad may mention a limit on quantity, but if it doesn’t, you have the right to buy as many of the items as you want. The product should not look much different from the picture in the ad. Also, an advertiser must tell you if a product is used or defective. In other words, false and misleading advertising is against the law.

Notes to the Text

Generic—shared by or including a whole group or class; not specific 属的；类的；一般的 E.g. The generic term for wine, spirits, and bear is ‘alcoholic beverages’.

Never go into a supermarket hungry! 永远都不要在饥饿时到超市去。

Check out 检查，察看

Read the list of ingredients on the back. 阅读背面的成分表。

You should examine the prices of both of different brands and different sizes of the same brand. 你因该研究不同品牌的价格，以及同一品牌、大小不同的商品价格。

Generic items 普通商品

Discount clothing stores 打折服装商店

Knowledge of the psychology behind the ads 了解广告背后的心理战术

Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? 广告商在页面底部小字体部分是不是隐藏了什么？

it doesn’t run out of them right away （商品）不会立刻卖光

If a product is used or defective 一件产品是否用过或有缺陷

Vocabulary

Nouns

Manufacturer—person or firm that manufactures things 制造商；工厂主；制造厂

Discount—[U,C] amount of money taken off the cost of sth 折扣 at a discount 打折扣；减价

Consumerism—[U] protection of consumers’ interests 消费者利益的保护

Verb

Compare—compare A and B; compare A with/to B 比较 E.g. If you compare her work with his, you’ll find hers is much better.

Adjectives

Plain—not decorated or luxurious; ordinary and simple 不矫饰的；朴素的；普通的；平凡的；简单的 E.g. A plain but very elegant dress

Phrases

Apiece of advice 一条意见， advice 是不可数名词，要用piece修饰

Grocery store 杂货店

Small print 小字体印刷

On sale  being offered at a reduced price 廉价出售

Name brands  famous brands名牌

Dressing room 试衣间

Cultural Note

Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A typology of shopper types has been developed by scholars which identifies one group of shoppers as recreational shoppers, that is, those who enjoy shopping and view it as a leisure activity.

Online shopping has become a major disruptor in the retail industry. Consumers can now search for product information and place product orders across different regions while online retailers deliver their products directly to the consumers' home, offices or wherever they want. The B2C (business to consumer)process has made it easy for consumers to select any product online from a retailer's website and to have it delivered relatively quickly. Using online shopping methods, consumers do not need to consume energy by physically visiting physical stores, but save time and the cost of travelling. Aretailer or a shop is a business that presents a selection of goods and offers to trade or sell them tocustomers for money or other goods.

Shoppers' shopping experiences may vary, based on a variety of factors including how the customer is treated, convenience, the type of goods being purchased, and mood. Other shoppers can also influence the shopping experience. For example, research from a field experiment found that male and female shoppers who were accidentally touched from behind by other shoppers left a store earlier than people who had not been touched and evaluated brands more negatively, resulting in the Accidental Interpersonal Touch effect.