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18 Mar 2026, 16:14
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
57% (02:41) correct
43%
(02:23)
wrong
based on 44
sessions
History
Date
Time
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Not Attempted Yet
Since 2022, overall supermarket sales have increased by 25%, and Safeco’s market share has risen from 20% to 24%. In the meantime, Safeco has closed 20% of its stores and has not opened any new ones.
By what percent has Safeco’s average sales per store increased?
A. 25%
B. 50%
C. 60%
D. 75%
E. 87.5%
By what percent has Safeco’s average sales per store increased?
A. 25%
B. 50%
C. 60%
D. 75%
E. 87.5%
19 Mar 2026, 18:48
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Let's break this down step by step using simple numbers.
Step 1: Pick a starting number for total supermarket sales. Let's say total market sales in 2022 = 100.
Step 2: Find Safeco's original sales.
Safeco's market share was 20%, so Safeco's sales = 20% of 100 = 20.
Step 3: Find Safeco's NEW sales.
Total market sales increased by 25%, so new total = 125.
Safeco's new market share is 24%, so Safeco's new sales = 24% of 125 = 30.
Step 4: Handle the stores.
Let's say Safeco originally had 100 stores.
They closed 20% of them, so now they have 80 stores.
Step 5: Calculate average sales per store — before and after.
Original average = 20 / 100 = 0.2 per store.
New average = 30 / 80 = 0.375 per store.
Step 6: Find the percent increase.
Change = 0.375 - 0.2 = 0.175
Percent increase = 0.175 / 0.2 = 0.875 = 87.5%.
Answer: E
The most common mistake here is finding only the sales increase (50%) and forgetting to account for the store closures. But fewer stores sharing MORE total sales means average sales per store jumps even higher than 50%. Another trap is picking answer choice B (50%) by only calculating the sales growth without dividing by the reduced number of stores.
Step 1: Pick a starting number for total supermarket sales. Let's say total market sales in 2022 = 100.
Step 2: Find Safeco's original sales.
Safeco's market share was 20%, so Safeco's sales = 20% of 100 = 20.
Step 3: Find Safeco's NEW sales.
Total market sales increased by 25%, so new total = 125.
Safeco's new market share is 24%, so Safeco's new sales = 24% of 125 = 30.
Step 4: Handle the stores.
Let's say Safeco originally had 100 stores.
They closed 20% of them, so now they have 80 stores.
Step 5: Calculate average sales per store — before and after.
Original average = 20 / 100 = 0.2 per store.
New average = 30 / 80 = 0.375 per store.
Step 6: Find the percent increase.
Change = 0.375 - 0.2 = 0.175
Percent increase = 0.175 / 0.2 = 0.875 = 87.5%.
Answer: E
The most common mistake here is finding only the sales increase (50%) and forgetting to account for the store closures. But fewer stores sharing MORE total sales means average sales per store jumps even higher than 50%. Another trap is picking answer choice B (50%) by only calculating the sales growth without dividing by the reduced number of stores.
