外文翻译---消费者关于广告价格比较的认知

毕业论文（设计）外文翻译

一、外文原文

标题：Consumer Perceptions of Comparative Price Advertisements COMPARATIVE PRICE ADVERTISEMENT

Most retail advertisements offer merchandise at "special price." Often this "special price" is compared with a previous price, a manufacturer's price, a rival seller's price, the price of similar merchandise, or an area price. The general implication of these advertisements is the consumer can pay a lower than normal price for the merchandise if he/she will purchase it from the advertiser. The seller promotes a "special price" in the advertisement in the belief that more consumers will purchase the item if they believe the price is comparatively lower.

Seller's Decision Problems

The decision to promote a lower price produces two decision problems for the seller.

1. How much to reduce the price.

2. How to communicate the fact that the price has been lowered.

The first decision problem poses two additional concerns. If the price reduction is too small, consumers may perceive little price difference between the two offers and therefore may believe the price reduction does not warrant a purchase effort. If the price reduction is too large, consumers may perceive that the offer is not bona fide. For example, they may not believe the larger reference price is an actual price, or they may wonder about the "quality" of the sale item (Monroe 1979, p. 45).

The second decision problem relates to the format the seller may use to present the comparative offer. Recognizing that too little difference in price may not stimulate purchase behaviour, the seller must communicate the value being offered. Often, therefore, the special price is compared with a usual or regular price, a manufacturer's suggested price, or some other reference price. In addition, the reduction may be promoted with a statement of either the relative savings (percentage) or absolute savings (dollars), or other words to connote a special (Berkowitz and Walton 1980).

However, consumers may not perceive the comparative price advertisement in a way that reflects the true situation. Some advertisements appear designed deliberately to create misperceptions, and some advertisers unintentionally create misperceptions. Regardless of intent, buyers may be deceived (Federal Trade Commission 1964). Regulatory Considerations

Because price advertisements may deceive consumers, the Federal Trade Commission adopted a set of guidelines in 1958 entitled "Guides Against Deceptive Pricing," referring specifically to comparative or comparison pricing. By 1962, the Commission was concerned with the possibility of many lawsuits arising because of the 1958 guides. Therefore, revised guides were prepared and adopted in 1964 and are still in force. The 1964 guides are shorter (five in number), more general, and are written in a more conversational style. In 1974 the Commission published a proposed revision of the guides for comment. Action on this revision is still pending.

Currently, little empirical evidence is available on how consumers perceive comparative price offers. Consequently, neither the seller nor the public policy maker has reliable evidence on how to formulate either pricing policy or public regulations on comparative price advertising. In 1978, the staff at the Federal Trade Commission proposed that consumer perception and behavior studies be conducted to provide data for developing an enforcement approach for comparative price advertising. Such research has yet to be conducted.

PERCEPTION OF COMPARA TZVE PRICES

The two decision problems related to promoting a lower price can be analyzed in terms of perception psychology. That is, the consumer's perception of a comparative price advertisement derives from his/her interpretation of the price differences and from his/her interpretation of the words used to connote the lower price. It is known that consumers do not evaluate prices singly, but rather judge prices in reference to standards that may be objective or subjective (Monroe 1973). Thus, a comparative price advertisement featuring both the offered price and a (higher) comparative price is an attempt to impose a reference or standard price for the consumer. Primarily the consumer must judge whether the lower price is acceptable (believable) in relation to