经济学人:超市大采购 该死的通道

 　　Grocery shopping

　　超市大采购

　　Aisle¹ be damned

　　该死的通道

　　For the best bargains, avoid shopping around for your groceries

　　欲求物美价廉货，货比三家要不得

　　THRIFTY² shoppers do not have to look far to find a bargain. Offers abound³ in the cut-throat world of British supermarkets. Received wisdom suggests that people trying to save money on their groceries should shop around to get the best prices. But research presented on April 9th at the Royal Economic Society suggests that those who do so end up paying more.

　　节俭的消费者们不需要寻觅很远就能买到便宜货。英国残酷的超市世界中其实充斥着很多这样的便宜货。一种广泛被接受的观点认为，想要在购物上省钱的人们就应该货比三家，这样才能找到最理想的价格。但是4月9日由皇家经济协会展出的研究指出，那些货比三家的人通常到最后反而花的更多。

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　　Kun Tian, a researcher at Cardiff Business School, and Ji Yan of Durham University, the paper's authors, argue that people who buy all their groceries at just one of the big supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons) pay less than those who purchase equivalent goods at a mixture of the four of them. Data from Kantar Worldpanel, a market-research firm, show similar trends. Unlike Mr Tian's study, these cover total purchases rather than comparing equivalent baskets of goods. They show that people who bought groceries in just one store during the 12 weeks to September 2013 spent 631. Those who went to ten different places, by contrast, forked out 1,249.

　　研究论文的作者是来自卡迪夫商学院的研究员田坤，以及来自杜伦大学的延吉，他们认为仅在四家大型超市其中某一家购物的人（分别是特易购、森宝利、阿斯达以及莫里森超市）会比在四家分别消费等值商品的人花费的要少。我们也能从市场研究公司凯度消费者指数研究处提供的数据中看到同样的趋势。不过该数据与田坤的研究不一样的地方在于其数据涵盖了所有的消费品，而不仅仅是对比等值的商品。数据指出，只在一家超市购物的消费者在2013年9月之前的12周内只花费了631英镑，而相比之下，那些在十家不同超市分别购物的人最终却支出了1249英镑。

　　Many of those high-spending shoppers probably had money to burn. But bargain-hunters who visit lots of shops are exposed to more products, and thus more likely to buy things they had not planned to, argues Phil Dorsett, an analyst⁴ at Kantar. Mr Tian reckons that promiscuous⁵ shoppers suffer from missing out on savings⁶ offered to more loyal customers, especially those earned after spending a lot in a particular store. Shoppers who frequent an abundance of different outlets⁷ also tend to be older, says Mr Tian. They are less likely than people with young families to take advantage of deals that require them to buy goods in bulk.

　　很多高消费的购物者们大多数可能都钱多的烧得慌。但是凯度研究所的分析师菲尔·多赛特指出，那些会逛很多家超市爱捡便宜的消费者往往会暴露在更多的商品中，因而更有可能会购买计划之外的商品。而田坤认为逛多家超市的消费者也会错失享受折扣的机会，这些折扣一般是提供给更为忠诚的顾客们，特别是那些在某一家特定的超市大量消费就能获得的折扣。田坤还指出，常去多家不同便利店的购物者也趋向于更为年长，因为和有着年轻家庭的青壮年相比，他们享受需要大量购买商品才能打折的优惠的可能性要低得多。

　　Those who buy their groceries in fewer emporia—and so spend less—are also more likely to do their shopping online. And on the internet they are more likely to buy products from supermarkets' cheaper own-label ranges, says Edward Garner⁸, also of Kantar. Supermarkets do not always stock such ranges in their small convenience outlets; people shopping in a hurry may as well be encouraged to buy more expensive varieties. In big stores, low-cost lines may be stashed⁹ well above or below a harried¹⁰ shopper's line of sight. Search a supermarket's online store, however, and they pop up just as appetisingly as more expensive brands. That provides much less scope for shelf deception¹¹.

　　选择在较少商业中心里购物的人们（同样也花的更少）也更可能选择上网购物。并且在网上消费者买到超市中更为廉价的自有品牌产品的可能性更高，凯度研究所的另一位员工爱德华·加纳这样说道。超市也不总是在它们的小型便利连锁店里囤自有品牌产品；匆忙的消费者倒不如说是被鼓励去购买更为昂贵种类的商品了。在大型商店中，琳琅满目的商品总是会令购买者眼花缭乱，而低价产品往往会被堆放至高于或低于购买者视线所及之处的地方。然而在网上超市搜索低价产品的话，它们就会突然出现在你面前，和那些更为昂贵的品牌产品一样令人蠢蠢欲动。这就大大缩小了货架骗术施展的范围。

　　1.end up 结束；告终

　　例句:We will end up living in a society where life is cheap.

　　我们最终将生活在一个视人命为儿戏的社会。

　　2.plan to 打算；计划

　　例句:The Canadians plan to deliver more food to southern Somalia.

　　加拿大计划向索马里南部地区运送更多的食品。

　　3.tend to 倾向于；趋向

　　例句:We tend to meet up for lunch once a week.

　　我们往往每周共进一次午餐。

　　4.likely to 倾向于；可能要

　　例句:The fires are likely to permanently¹² deforest the land.

　　这些火灾很可能会彻底毁掉这片土地上的森林。

1 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

2 thrifty   

adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的

参考例句：

• Except for smoking and drinking,he is a thrifty man.除了抽烟、喝酒，他是个生活节俭的人。
• She was a thrifty woman and managed to put aside some money every month.她是个很会持家的妇女，每月都设法存些钱。

3 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 promiscuous   

adj.杂乱的，随便的

参考例句：

• They were taking a promiscuous stroll when it began to rain.他们正在那漫无目的地散步，突然下起雨来。
• Alec know that she was promiscuous and superficial.亚历克知道她是乱七八糟和浅薄的。

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

7 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

9 stashed   

v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 harried   

v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• She has been harried by the press all week. 整个星期她都受到新闻界的不断烦扰。
• The soldiers harried the enemy out of the country. 士兵们不断作骚扰性的攻击直至把敌人赶出国境为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

12 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。