The dominance of premium brands has led numerous shoppers to disregard store-brand alternatives—options that provide comparable performance at lower c...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The dominance of premium brands has led numerous shoppers to disregard store-brand alternatives—options that provide comparable performance at lower costs but without established brand identity. Buyers of generic products frequently encounter doubts regarding quality that reduces their contentment relative to branded product purchases. Research specialist James Rodriguez performed studies in which subjects were offered choices between a recognized brand-name product and an unknown generic counterpart. His results indicated that buyers chose the brand-name option in \(45.2\%\) of decisions and the generic option in \(35.9\%\) of decisions, implying that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
shoppers are willing to purchase store-brand items, but when presented with alternatives, they usually prefer specialty stores providing unique name-brand products instead.
shoppers do not consistently dismiss store-brand options, making enhanced marketing of generic products a potentially successful strategy for boosting private label sales.
shoppers exhibit more opposition to store-brand purchases than alternative consumer groups do, putting cost-conscious buyers at a notable disadvantage in retail environments.
shoppers display reluctance toward both name-brand and store-brand products and are thus unlikely to react favorably to conventional retail marketing strategies.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The dominance of premium brands has led numerous shoppers to disregard store-brand alternatives—options that provide comparable performance at lower costs but without established brand identity." |
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| "Buyers of generic products frequently encounter doubts regarding quality that reduces their contentment relative to branded product purchases." |
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| "Research specialist James Rodriguez performed studies in which subjects were offered choices between a recognized brand-name product and an unknown generic counterpart." |
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| "His results indicated that buyers chose the brand-name option in 45.2% of decisions and the generic option in 35.9% of decisions, implying that ______" |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Research reveals that while brand-name products are chosen more often than generic alternatives, the gap is smaller than expected given the dominance narrative.
Argument Flow: The passage sets up premium brand dominance and quality concerns about generics, then presents Rodriguez's research data showing brand-name products were chosen \(45.2\%\) of the time versus \(35.9\%\) for generics, leading to an implication we need to determine.
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 key insight is in the numbers: while brand-name products were chosen more frequently (\(45.2\%\)), generic products still captured a substantial portion of choices (\(35.9\%\))
- This challenges the opening premise that shoppers "disregard" store-brand alternatives
- The data suggests shoppers don't completely dismiss generic options—they're willing to choose them over one-third of the time
shoppers are willing to purchase store-brand items, but when presented with alternatives, they usually prefer specialty stores providing unique name-brand products instead.
- Claims shoppers prefer specialty stores with unique name-brand products.
- The study compared individual products, not store types
- Nothing in the passage mentions specialty stores
shoppers do not consistently dismiss store-brand options, making enhanced marketing of generic products a potentially successful strategy for boosting private label sales.
- Recognizes that 35.9% choosing generic shows shoppers don't "consistently dismiss" store-brand options.
- Logically connects this to marketing potential for private label products
- Directly contradicts the opening claim that shoppers "disregard" store-brand alternatives
shoppers exhibit more opposition to store-brand purchases than alternative consumer groups do, putting cost-conscious buyers at a notable disadvantage in retail environments.
- Claims shoppers show "more opposition" than other consumer groups.
- The passage provides no comparison to other consumer groups
- Misinterprets the data—35.9% choosing generic doesn't show strong opposition
shoppers display reluctance toward both name-brand and store-brand products and are thus unlikely to react favorably to conventional retail marketing strategies.
- Claims reluctance toward both brand-name and generic products.
- The data shows people are actively making choices (81.1% total), not avoiding purchases