Passages
Direction for Reading Comprehension: Contemporary internet shopping conjures a perfect storm of choice anxiety. Research has consistently held that people who are presented with a few options make better, easier decisions than those presented with many. . . . Helping consumers figure out what to buy amid an endless sea of choice online has become a cottage industry unto itself. Many brands and retailers now wield marketing buzzwords such as curation, differentiation, and discovery as they attempt to sell an assortment of stuff targeted to their ideal customer. Companies find such shoppers through the data gold mine of digital advertising, which can catalog people by gender, income level, personal interests, and more. Since Americans have lost the ability to sort through the sheer volume of the consumer choices available to them, a ghost now has to be in the retail machine, whether it’s an algorithm, an influencer, or some snazzy ad tech to help a product follow you around the internet. Indeed, choice fatigue is one reason so many people gravitate toward lifestyle influencers on Instagram—the relentlessly chic young moms and perpetually vacationing 20-somethings—who present an aspirational worldview, and then recommend the products and services that help achieve it. . . .
For a relatively new class of consumer-products start-ups, there’s another method entirely. Instead of making sense of a sea of existing stuff, these companies claim to disrupt stuff as Americans know it. Casper (mattresses), Glossier (makeup), Away (suitcases), and many others have sprouted up to offer consumers freedom from choice: The companies have a few aesthetically pleasing and supposedly highly functional options, usually at mid-range prices. They’re selling nice things, but maybe more importantly, they’re selling confidence in those things and an ability to opt-out of the stuff rat race. . . .
One-thousand-dollar mattresses and $300 suitcases might solve choice anxiety for a certain tier of consumer, but the companies that sell them, along with those that attempt to massage the larger stuff economy into something navigable, are still just working within a consumer market that’s broken in systemic ways. The presence of so much stuff in America might be more valuable if it were more evenly distributed, but stuff’s creators tend to focus their energy on those who already have plenty. As options have expanded for people with disposable income, the opportunity to buy even basic things such as fresh food or quality diapers has contracted for much of America’s lower classes.
For start-ups that promise accessible simplicity, their very structure still might eventually push them toward overwhelming variety. Most of these companies are based on hundreds of millions of dollars of venture capital, the investors of which tend to expect a steep growth rate that can’t be achieved by selling one great mattress or one great sneaker. Casper has expanded into bedroom furniture and bed linens. Glossier, after years of marketing itself as no-makeup makeup that requires little skill to apply, recently launched a full line of glittering color cosmetics. There may be no way to opt-out of stuff by buying into the right thing.
Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 7
Try yourself:Which one of the following best sums up the overall purpose of the examples of Casper and Glossier in the passage?
Explanation
Option A: The startups Casper and Glossier are certainly breaking the trend of choice anxiety. Yet, the author argues that they are turning into something that they intended to disrupt. Hence, this does not capture the purpose of the author.
Option B: The author argues that even these startups are targeting select few mid-range customers rather than the lower classes. Hence, this option directly contradicts the author's claim.
Option C: These startups initially started as an exception to offering a wide variety of choices. Yet, due to limited customers, and want of steep growth, they might transform into a type of company that they intended to disrupt. Hence, this option correctly resounds the author's fear and captures his purpose of argument. Hence C is correct
Option D: This option is largely vague and can have multiple interpretations. One interpretation can be that these startups are targeting a selected band of customers and do not have offerings for lower-class customers. Hence, there is no uniform distribution.
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 7
Try yourself:Based on the passage, all of the following can be inferred about consumer behavior EXCEPT that:
Explanation
Option A: Paragraph 1 says "Since Americans have lost the ability to sort through the sheer volume of the consumer choices available to them" Since the product options are overwhelming, they are unable to sort through the options. Hence, option A can be inferred from the passage.
Option B: Paragraph 1 says "Research has consistently ..... industry unto itself." As people experience choice anxiety due to overwhelming options, they are unable to trust products while selecting. Hence, the lookout for celebrities and curators to make a decision.
Option C: There is no such comparison in the passage that shows people's preference towards products by startups. Hence, option C cannot be inferred.
Option D: Paragraph 1 says "a ghost now has to be in the retail machine, whether it’s an algorithm, an influencer, or some snazzy ad tech to help a product follow you around the internet". Due to our inability to sort, we depend on influencers or we are vulnerable to snazzy ads to purchase products. Hence, D can be inferred.
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 7
Try yourself:A new food brand plans to launch a series of products in the American market. Which of the following product plans is most likely to be supported by the author of the passage?
Explanation
The author principally argues for lesser choices. He says that choice anxiety is overwhelming and people make better decisions with lesser choices.
He is also critical about companies targeting only certain bands of well-off customers and critiques them for not offering products for consumers of lower classes.
Hence, a product group with lesser variety, and targeted to lower class customers would be most acceptable to the author.
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 7
Try yourself:All of the following, IF TRUE, would weaken the author’s claims EXCEPT:
Explanation
Option A: Paragraph 1 says "choice fatigue is one reason so many people gravitate toward lifestyle influencers on Instagram". Hence, as per the passage, a company with a wide range of products and a lifestyle influencer is likely to perform better than a company with an only a wide range of products. Hence, this statement negates the claim of the author.
Option B: "As options have expanded for people with disposable income, the opportunity to buy even basic things such as fresh food or quality diapers has contracted for much of America’s lower classes." The author argues that a variety of products are offered only for a certain class of consumers other than the lower class. If the variety of options indeed helped the poor, then his argument is weakened.
Option C: "Research has consistently held that people who are presented with a few options make better, easier decisions than those presented with many". "Americans have lost the ability to sort through the sheer volume". Clearly, people are overwhelmed by options and prefer lesser variety. Hence, option C is contradictory.
Option D: This option is largely vague and leaves unanswered questions behind. Also, the author doesn't make any comparison between the growth of these two types of companies. The author only says that, as the company targets only a few consumers, for the want of growth they are likely to expand to a variety of products. As there is no information about their growths, this option neither strengthens nor weakens the claim.
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Question for CAT 2019 Reading Comprehension Questions- 7
Try yourself:Which of the following hypothetical statements would add the least depth to the author’s prediction of the fate of start-ups offering few product options?
Explanation
By "Depth", the author suggests a scenario that adds value or supplies additional information which supports his claim.
Option A: If the startup products grow exponentially and are self-sufficient and do not expand to other products, this scenario directly contradicts the author's probable prediction of these companies. Hence, it would add the least depth to the author's argument. A is the correct answer.
Option B: Let's consider that startups with few product options already exist. In such a case, these startups are no exceptions. For the sake of steep growth and survival, they might have to expand into different product categories. Hence it adds some depth to the author's prediction.
Option C: "There may be no way to opt-out of stuff by buying into the right thing." The author is clearly displeased with startups ending up with overwhelming variety. Losing regular customers for better growth further invigorates the author's claim against numerous choices. Hence, it adds some value to his criticism.
Option D: If the government doubles their tax rates, as these startups are dependent on select customers for income, they might have to venture into other products and varieties to accentuate their returns and keep the company afloat. Hence, their fate would likely end up the way the author predicted it to be.
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