carcass wrote:
United States advertising agencies are increasingly using interviews at shopping malls, cal1ed "mall intercepts," to test for advertising effectiveness, product concept viability, and consumer buying habits. Critics of mall intercepts maintain that the shopping habits of mall shoppers are not representative of those of the larger population.
Which of the following, if true, would provide evidence that most supports the critics' claim about mall intercepts?
Question
prompt says-> US advertising agencies doing interviews at malls. (calling it mall intercepts)
-> Interviews to test 3 things - advertising effectiveness, product concept viability, and consumer buying habits.
-> Critics of mall intercepts say mall shoppers are not representatives of larger population.
We need to strengthen the conclusion that mall shoppers are not representatives of larger population by providing some sort of evidence.
carcass wrote:
(A) Some mall shoppers patronize more than one store in any given shopping trip.
This option is only talking about the mall shoppers. So there are very bleak chances of this option being correct. Moreover mall shoppers patronize more than one store. This is not proof that larger population is also not patronizing more than one shops. In this case, it is weakening the conclusion.
carcass wrote:
(B) Mall shoppers, on average, spend 50 percent more time shopping than shoppers at other locations do.
Here we are comparing mall shoppers with shoppers outside the mall. The option says, 50 percent more time shopping than others. Meaning that they will definitely have a different perspective from outside the mall shoppers in terms of the three things (advertising effectiveness, product concept viability, and consumer buying habits.) that mall intercepts are trying to find. Hence it is possibly the right answer. Will keep it as tentatively marked.
carcass wrote:
(C) In the course of any year, 95 percent of all households in the United States have at least one member who does some shopping at a mall.
So 95% of the families are visiting the mall to do shopping, even if one member is going. But about their regularity in these malls. The option does not say anything about that. If out of these 95 % families have 20 % as regular mall shoppers, 40 % as occasional mall shoppers and remaining as once in a blue moon mall shoppers. Then the mall intercepts will not have correct data just from interviewing any one group, which in this case could most probably be the regular mall shoppers. Hence incorrect option.
carcass wrote:
(D) Mall shoppers who use public transportation to reach the mall tend to have lower incomes than mall shoppers who drive to the mall.
Okay income is not of any relevance in the above prompt. Mall intercepts are only,as per prompt, evaluating on the basis of shopping trends whether this shopping is done by high income or low income group. So not considering this option as it is trying to deviate us from the original prompt. Hence incorrect.
carcass wrote:
(E) Indoor malls often attract the customary numbers of shoppers even during inclement weather when outdoor malls are likely to lose business.
Here mall intercepts are trying to find generalized trends. So no specific cases to be considered. So this option might not be able to help us in any way. Hence incorrect.
Hence
Option B seems to be the best fit.
_________________
Regards,
AD
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