In a consumer behavior study, customers in a shop were

Question

In a consumer behavior study, customers in a shop were asked to avail one of two schemes offered on all electronic items. The first scheme gave a flat 10% discount while the other scheme offered additional service benefits but no monetary discount. Over a period of three months, it was found that 67% of consumers chose to go with the first scheme. This preference for financial discount was common for all electronic items. This study shows that monetary discount has greater impact than additional service benefits on consumers’ purchasing decision.

Which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn in the consumer behavior study?

A. If the cash discount was 20%, an estimate suggests that more than 90% customers would have opted for the cash discount.
B. The discount was at the time of purchase while the services were to be used over a period of a year.
C. The monetary value of services was 20% greater than the cash discount offered.
D. People preferred buying services for some electronic items but not for others.
E. The services were offered only on big brands while the discount was present on all brands

nightblade354 · Accepted Answer

Hi Pra,

I too debated between (A) and (C); however, (C) is clearly the right choice. You are trying to strengthen the argument. In (C), you are shown that even though the discount for the service was GREATER than the cash discount, a majority of people took the cash, thus strengthening the argument that, to paraphrase the argument, 'cash is king'.

(A) is incorrect because it talks about an increase in the discount alone. While this shows people care about cash discounts, it doesn't help clarify its relationship to the services provided. The original conclusion:  This study shows that monetary discount has greater impact than additional service benefits on consumers’ purchasing decision.  You need to show the relationship to strengthen the argument, otherwise we are just left with the knowledge that people like money and discounts.

I hope this helps!

arif24 · Answer

Ans -C 
Why people prefer the first scheme is because of the monetary value to be more than that of cash discount 
For eg say if an item cost is $100 then cash discount would be $10 and monetary discount would be $12 so it is because monetary value people prefer first scheme not because of additional service benefits

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sobby · Answer

i will go with C ...
service value = 20% greater that cash discount .., so calculation on projected amount makes the service value more lucrative than cash discount ...
but still 67% consumer opted for discount means consumer are more attracted to discount despite monetary benefit on service ...

pra1785 · Answer

Can someone explain why A is wrong?

Nightmare007 · Answer

A is circular reasoning.. X --> Y .. when asked to strengthen it. Option A is like X is true...

C is correct that says even though the VALUE of services is better than VALUE of cash discounts. People are choosing cash discounts over Services.
 But requires an assumption that People can estimate or evaluate the value of services.

Hope this helps.

Abhishek009 · Answer

Bumping for further reviews and discussion , best explanation will be awarded a Kudos from my side

HOW DO YOU REJECT OPTION (B) ????

utkbits · Answer

B is irrelevant, there could be possibilities that the customers are non returning. Why would they want the service for over a year, they will need it at the very moment. I would go a for a discount of 10 percent if I get a service of 10% cashback on any item for the remaining year. we need to show something which proves that monetary value was more important for customers

rohitenigma · Answer

option A is providing the discount more than what already offering , hence people will get attract so its not strengthen the conclusion , which is that people get attracted to cash discount more.

ConfusedSEA · Answer

A- Amateur trap and placed at 1st option most people will view
B- This weakens the conclusion by suggesting that it was not monetary regard rather the time of the scheme which impacted customers' decision
C-  Correct . Ensures that the monetary value of services was competitive enough to not discourage people
D- Does not help to reach the conclusion
E- Weakens the conclusion, if at all

krndatta · Answer

EducationAisle

Can you explain your reasoning for option A? 
This option explicitly mentions that if cash discount was 20%, 90 % would take the discount. Doesn't this strengthen the conclusion? 
Please evaluate where am I going wrong.

Thanks

EducationAisle · Answer

Well, with 10% monetary discount, majority customers (67%) opted it.

So, it obviously comes as no surprise that with 20% discount, even more customers (90%) would opt for it.

In fact, with 100% discount, 100% customers would opt for it:).

Basically A is just talking about the monetary discount and is not bringing "additional service" into picture at all.

The reason why C wins is that it establishes a case that even when the "monetary value" of the services was great than monetary discount, customers STILL preferred monetary discount. This conclusively establishes that monetary discount has greater impact than additional service benefits on consumers’ purchasing decision.

yashhw · Answer

I'd say its a weak support.
This only shows that a  larger  discount would attract even more people. It  does not  compare the value of service benefits with the discount.
So it doesn’t directly prove that monetary discount is stronger than service benefits, it only shows that bigger discounts are more attractive.

In a consumer behavior study, customers in a shop were

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In a consumer behavior study, customers in a shop were

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