Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Boston Marathon

Recently there has been a bombing that took place during the Boston Marathon. With the marathon bringing in crowds from all over the world, this incident not only affected Americans but also many other countries and people around the world. Living in Massachusetts I have visited Boston several times a year since I can remember, its like a second home. My brother, who currently lives in Boston, has been keeping me updated on how the city seems so dead, compared to the liveliness it usually has. Up until that Friday night, when the second suspect was captured, the residents of Boston were afraid to leave their homes; a fear they never had before. Many businesses had resorted to closing temporarily during this time and placed signs in their front windows which stated the re-open of their business will happen when all suspects are found. These businesses did not have to shut down, especially seeing how this would cause them to lose profit until the capture, but they did to show their support for the city of Boston. This included that of small and large businesses.

Do you think it was a good idea for businesses to close until the capture of the suspects?


Thursday, April 18, 2013

In Response To Cody Crawford

Why do you think psychological pricing is so successful in todays market?

In present day I feel that people fall more for psychological pricing because of the way the economy is. Since we are currently, and slowly, coming out of a recession families and others are looking for ways to spend less but gain the same quality they have been accustomed to their whole lives. Everything is priced so much higher than those prices from the past and this puts a strain on people financially. When people see $4.95 instead of $5.00 they immediately think that they are saving money, even though we know that they are in fact not. However, I feel that people are convinced they're saving because companies have found the trend in people wanted cheaper goods. With companies still trying to gain a profit, one method is to use psychological pricing to trick that of their consumers, and they still maintain their revenue goals. Yes, I find this to be cheating the consumer but it is a good pricing technique for companies to use. However, the consumer should also have enough knowledge to understand what they are about to purchase and that the price is not that much cheaper than they originally think.

Have you ever fallen for a slightly lower price by how it appeared originally?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

On-Demand Movies

Movies have been a part of history for well over a hundred years. Varying in different genres, languages, etc., movies have captured audiences of all kinds with this form of entertainment. With technology advancing, they have become more readily available to the average person. Companies like Red Box and Netflix specialize in delivering a movie to the hand of the consumer instantly. However, what makes us choose the movie we choose? I know for me the decision isn't always an easy one. With the options seemingly endless, its hard for me to narrow down which ones I think will be good, and then deciding on just one is nearly impossible. From the cover of the dvd, the summary of what the movie is about to the commercial previews I could have seen before even approaching this situation, there are many factors that go into deciding which movie to watch or stream. Personally I choose a movie that I was not able to see in theaters or one that looks the most interesting. However, this decision was partially already made for me. There are people whose job it is to "sell" a movie even after it has already been marketed for the theaters. Sell is in quotations because yes their job is to make money from consumers purchasing their movies, however these people's jobs revolves around persuading a consumer to purchase the movie, even after all the excitement from the movie originally coming out. If this job is not done well, the consumers will become disinterested in a movie due to the bad quality in the cover and the previews that are shown.

When choosing a movie to watch from Red Box or Netflix, have you been persuaded one way or another by how the movie appears, or more by what you've heard about that movie?