One aspect of in-person shopping that online shopping can't replicate is the opportunity to touch a product before buying it....
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
One aspect of in-person shopping that online shopping can't replicate is the opportunity to touch a product before buying it. Does this difference matter? In an experiment, researchers asked one group of participants to touch a mug and a toy, while another group was prohibited from touching the two items. The participants were then asked how much money they'd pay for the items. People who got to touch the items were willing to pay much more money for them than were people who weren't allowed to touch the items. This finding suggests that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
people who mainly shop online probably spend more money every month than people who mainly shop in person do.
in-person shopping may make products seem more valuable than they seem if only viewed online.
retailers with in-person and online stores should charge the same price for a given product in both places.
online retailers may be able to raise the prices they charge for products that are only available online.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "One aspect of in-person shopping that online shopping can't replicate is the opportunity to touch a product before buying it." |
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| "Does this difference matter?" |
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| "In an experiment, researchers asked one group of participants to touch a mug and a toy, while another group was prohibited from touching the two items." |
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| "The participants were then asked how much money they'd pay for the items." |
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| "People who got to touch the items were willing to pay much more money for them than were people who weren't allowed to touch the items." |
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Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: An experiment showed that people who can touch products before buying are willing to pay significantly more than those who cannot touch them.
Argument Flow: The passage starts by identifying a key difference between in-person and online shopping (ability to touch products), then presents experimental evidence showing this difference affects how much people are willing to pay, leading to a conclusion about what this finding suggests.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The experiment clearly showed that touching products makes people willing to pay more for them
- This suggests that physical contact with products increases their perceived value or desirability
- Since in-person shopping allows touching while online shopping doesn't, we'd expect that:
- Products would seem more valuable when people can touch them (in-person) compared to just viewing them (online)
- This addresses the original question about whether the touch difference between shopping methods matters
- The right answer should connect the experimental finding to the broader implication about how in-person vs online shopping affects product valuation
people who mainly shop online probably spend more money every month than people who mainly shop in person do.
- Claims online shoppers spend more monthly than in-person shoppers
- Contradicts the experimental finding - if touching increases willingness to pay, in-person shoppers should spend more, not less
- Goes beyond what the experiment measured
in-person shopping may make products seem more valuable than they seem if only viewed online.
- Directly connects the experimental finding to the shopping context introduced at the beginning
- If people pay more for items they can touch, then products logically seem more valuable when touched (in-person) vs just viewed (online)
- Perfectly matches our prethinking about increased perceived value from physical contact
retailers with in-person and online stores should charge the same price for a given product in both places.
- Makes a pricing recommendation about what retailers "should" do
- The experiment shows touching affects willingness to pay, but doesn't suggest prices should be the same - if anything, it might suggest different pricing could be justified
online retailers may be able to raise the prices they charge for products that are only available online.
- Suggests online retailers should raise prices for online-only products
- The experiment shows touch increases value perception, but this choice doesn't address the core finding about touch vs no-touch