TEXT 4: MASS MARKETING
Selling goods in large quantities is called mass marketing. This kind of large-scale selling is well illustrated by the modern supermarket. The supermarket is a huge store that sells hundreds of different kinds of products of nearly every brand. At first the supermarket was mainly a food store. Now it also often sells drugs, auto supplies, phonograph records, clothes, hardware, and many other products. Another example of mass marketing is the department store. This is a large store that has many separate sections for selling different kinds of goods. The type of marketing that is used in supermarkets and department stores is called self-service. It is an efficient and inexpensive way to sell goods because it is labor-saving. Self-service is a modern method of marketing. Many years ago, storekeepers hired clerks to sell their goods. Each clerk waited on only one customer at a time. In today's self-service stores, many customers can shop at the same time, and one clerk can help many more people. Standard packaging also adds to the efficiency of the self-service system of marketing. Goods come from the factory already wrapped. Crackers, for instance, are sealed in double wrappers and sold in boxes. Sugar comes in boxes or bags of different weights. Steaks, chops, and other meats are cut in convenient sizes and wrapped in plastic. Years ago crackers came in a barrel. They were weighed out for each customer. Sugar also was scooped out of a barrel. It was poured into a paper bag and weighed for each customer. Today few items have to be weighed or measured in the store. Another feature of mass marketing is the one-price system. This means that the selling price is stamped on every item. The one-price system was first used by Wanamaker's department store in Philadelphia more than 100 years ago. Now it is standard everywhere. Vocabulary:
Comprehension Questions: 1. What is mass marketing? 2. What is a supermarket? Are there many supermarkets in Chita? 3. What is the difference between a supermarket and a department store? 4. What is self-service? What are the main characteristics of this method of distribution (selling) goods? 5. What is your attitude towards the modern system of mass marketing? Where do you prefer to do shopping?
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