A certain towns pizza shop initiated an advertising campaign to bring

Question

A certain town’s pizza shop initiated an advertising campaign to bring in new customers and increase sales in December. The advertising campaign consisted of sending emails that promoted a two-for-one deal on sheet pizzas. Even though the pizza shop sent out thousands of these email advertisements, sales remained about the same in December as they had been in previous months.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the apparent discrepancy between the volume of advertisements and the volume of sales?

(A) The emails did not list every type of pizza on the pizza shop’s menu.

(B) In December, a new coffee shop opened in the same neighborhood as the pizza shop.

(C) Not every resident in the pizza shop’s delivery area had an email address.

(D) The pizza shop had email addresses only for customers who were members of its rewards club, which offers members weekly specials.

(E) The other two pizza shops in town specialize in gourmet pizzas, which are more expensive on average than items on this pizza shop’s menu.

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DhaSuk · Answer

The correct answer option is (D) The pizza shop had email addresses only for customers who were members of its rewards club, which offers members weekly specials.Why the Option is CorrectThe goal of the email campaign was to bring in new customers and increase sales by sending out thousands of promotions. However, if the shop only possessed email addresses for existing rewards club members (who already receive weekly specials), they did not actually reach any new customers. They were simply emailing people who already frequented the shop, which perfectly explains why the massive volume of advertisements failed to produce a noticeable increase in December sales compared to previous months.

vasu1104 · Answer

to bring in new customers and increase sales in December, pizza shop ran an ad campaign.
ad campaign = get two pizzas for one pizza on sheet pizza.

conclusion = despite sending email ads to thousand of people, the sales remain same in December as in other previous months.

need to find reason for this paradox.

A but as long as the email had been sent, the customers can look up the menu by themselves or they can inquire when placing the order. so this has not much to offer to solve the paradox.
B not much effect on the plan. reject.
C they didn't intend to send email to every resident. so even if not all had email thats fine. as long as store delivered to those who had it, it still fulfill their criteria. so this has no impact at all.
D so if they only had data about their club members and anyway those members are getting weekly deal, then sending a new promotional deal to them is of no use. moreover its not going to increase their customer base either. so this clearly solves the discrepancy. keep.
E then plan should have worked in their favour but didn't. so not much to offer. reject.

option D

BongBideshini · Answer

Our goal is to increase the sales of pizza. If the email ads are targeted at existing customers—especially those who already get special offers—it is highly unlikely that these customers will fall for the two-for-one pizza offer. Therefore, overall sales will not increase.
 Ans D

GmatTest2026 · Answer

Fact 1: Initiated an advertising campaign to bring new customers. 
 Fact 2: Sent out thousands of email advertisements.

Paradox: Even after sending thousands of emails, sales remain the same.

(A) The emails did not list every type of pizza on the pizza shop’s menu. Incorrect, even if an email contains a list similar to the pizza shop's menu, that won't help in resolving the paradox.

(B) In December, a new coffee shop opened in the same neighborhood as the pizza shop. Incorrect: The new coffee shop may contain a different product. So, how does it impact the sales of the pizza shop?

(C) Not every resident in the pizza shop’s delivery area had an email address. Incorrect. As mentioned in the passage, thousands of email advertisements had been sent, but still the sale remains the same.

(D) The pizza shop had email addresses only for customers who were members of its rewards club, which offers members weekly specials. Correct. This will certainly resolve the paradox. The email sent to customers who are members of its reward club could be the probable reason for sale remains same.

(E) The other two pizza shops in town specialize in gourmet pizzas, which are more expensive on average than items on this pizza shop’s menu. Incorrect. This doesn't resolve the paradox. How can gourmet pizzas that are pretty expensive harm a pizza shop’s sales?

Option D

Bunuel · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE QUESTION TYPE 
The question stem asks you to “explain the apparent discrepancy,” so this is an Explain question. Furthermore, you know from the question stem that the mystery will involve advertisements and sales.

STEP 2: UNTANGLE THE STIMULUS 
The stimulus should be viewed as a set of statements that present an apparent contradiction. The key words “even though” in the stimulus indicate a contrast or discrepancy. The discrepancy here is that pizza sales in December did not increase despite an increase in the number of emailed advertisements.

STEP 3: PREDICT THE ANSWER 
The correct answer must explain why sales remained flat despite the fact that thousands of people were offered a two-for-one deal on sheet pizzas. There may be some reason this deal was unappealing to the people who received the emails. Alternatively, perhaps many people who took advantage of the sale would normally have bought pizzas at full price, so overall revenues did not increase.

STEP 4: EVALUATE THE CHOICES 
 (D) states that the emails were sent only to customers who were already loyal customers and already getting special deals on pizza. This explains why they did not increase their pizza purchases and is the correct answer.  (A) does not account for the advertisement’s lack of effect on sales because the emails promoted a special price and not the variety of pizzas available. (B) mentions that a new coffee shop opened nearby, but because it’s a very different kind of restaurant, it would not be a direct competitor to the pizza shop. Therefore, its presence does not explain the lack of appeal of two-for-one pizzas. The fact that some people in the area don’t have email doesn’t explain why the advertisement failed to attract those who do have email, so (C) doesn’t explain the mystery. (E) mentions that the two other pizza shops in town offer more expensive gourmet pizzas. This would explain why not everyone would buy pizza at this pizza shop, but it doesn’t explain why emails offering a special deal failed to attract more business from people who don’t want more expensive pizza.

A certain towns pizza shop initiated an advertising campaign to bring

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A certain towns pizza shop initiated an advertising campaign to bring

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