BEC剑桥英语高级真题3 Test 4 Part 2- Shoppers wary of "premium" goods.

One of the marketing industry's favourite terms is "premium"- usually taken to mean "Luxury" or "top quality". The ideal is to create a premium car, wristwatch or perfume- something that appears to transcend the ordinary. When they succeed, marketers are able to charge high prices for the resulting product.

营销领域最受欢迎的术语之一是“溢价”-通常指的是“奢侈”或是“顶级品质”。 这个理想是制造一款高档汽车，腕表或者是香水-这些显得超越了普通。当他们成功了，营销者就能从产品中收取高价。

However, manufactures should take note of a recent survey of shoppers' attitudes to so-called premium goods. The results suggest that the term "premium” means very little to consumers." In fact, the tag seems to have become devalued by overused.

然而，生产商应该注意近期对购买者对所谓的高档产品的一份调查。调查结果显示，“高档”这个词对消费者的意义很小。事实上，这个标签看上去变得过度使用而贬值。

Consumers of all socio-economic backgrounds are very keen to buy the best- but not all products categories lend themselves to a premium status. "Premium" can be used in any category where image is paramount, and that includes cars, toiletries, clothes and electronics. The term is less effective, however, in areas where style and fashion play a smaller role. Banking and insurance are typical of this second group.

所有社会经济背景的消费者都非常热衷购买最好的产品-但是不是所有的产品类别都能带给他们高档的属性。“高档”可以用在任何一个形象至上的领域，包括，汽车，化妆品，衣服和电子产品。然而，在风格和时尚发挥较小的领域里，高档这个词效果就不那么明显了。银行和保险是第二种类型的代表。

More than 70 per cent of consumers interviewed in the survey said that a premium tag on everyday items such as coffee or soap is an excuse to charge extra for products that don't always have extra benefits.A fifth of them went further, and dismissed the very word as simply a way of lading prices.The prevalence of such a suspicious attitude makes life hard for the marketers.

在接受调查的消费者中，超过70%的人表示，在咖啡或肥皂等日用品上加贴高档的标签，是对那些并不总能带来额外好处收取额外费用的借口。他们中的五分之一的人不会购买，会把这种价格作为一个提高价格的方式而不予理睬。这种怀疑的态度的盛行让销售人员的日子不太好过。

While the word "luxury" had a clear and definable meaning among respondents-most related it to cars-"premium" was found to be harder to define. Oddly, the only category apart from cars where "premium" was understood to mean something specific was bread. The survey found that consumers were prepared to pay top prices for speciality items, just as long long as prices for everyday products remained low. Several respondents said they would never pay much for a standard sliced loaf but on special occasions would happily pay double for something that qualifies as a treat.

尽管"豪华"一次在受访者中有明确的可定义的含义（与汽车最为相关），但高档却很难定义。奇怪的是，除了汽车以外，唯一被认为是"高档"的类别是面包。调查发现，只要每天的消费品保持的低，消费者就准备为特殊的商品支付高额的价格。。许多受访者说他们可能永不不会为标准的一片面包支付昂贵的价格，但是在一些特殊的场合，他们很高兴为符合条件的东西支付双倍的价格。

Packing was found to be an important factors in charging extra for premium products, with sophisticated design enabling toiletries, electronics or food items to sell for far more. Shoppers are willing to pay extra for something that has had thought put into its outward appearance. The product hidden behind this attractive exterior may be exactly the same as an item selling for half the price, and shoppers may be quite aware of this. Yet the knowledge has no impact on their choice.

包装被认为是对高档产品收取额外费用的一个重要因素，使用复杂设计的化妆品，电子产品和食品售价更高。购物者愿意对一些他们考虑到的外在包装支付额外的费用。隐藏在这些吸引人的包装后面的产品可能和一半价格的没有这样包装产品一样，并且购买者已经意识到了这一点。。但是这些了解并不影响他们的选择。

The profit margin on premium-priced toiletries and beauty items can be as much as 300-400 percent-and in excess of 500 per cent for hi-fi and other electronic goods.With such incentive, the challenge for marketers is to find the triggers that can turn an ordinary product into something consumers will accepts as premium. In a crowed difficult to achieve this transformation than you might think.

高档的化妆品和美容产品的利润率最高可达300%至400%，而高保真音响和其他产品的利润率高达500%。有了这样的激励，营销人员面临的挑战是能够把普通产品变成消费者能够接受的高档产品。要实现这种转变比你想象的要困难得多。