Glossary

Belief – 1. (consumer behavior definition) A cognition or cognitive organization about some aspect of the individual’s world. Unlike an attitude, a belief is always emotionally or motivationally neutral. 2.  Very basic ideas about the central values of life, such as morality, to which a person adheres generally out of pure faith or intuition. See: … Read more

Basement Store – Originally in the basement of a Department Store, to which bargain merchandise was consigned, the concept has grown to mean any part of the store which specializes in merchandise priced to go easy on the average Consumer’s budget. Sometimes called budget store or budget departments. See: Automatic Basement Base Period – A … Read more

Bait Advertising – An unethical and frequently illegal practice sometimes used by retailers in which a product is advertised at n extremely low price, but when a customer wants to buy the item, the sales clerk refuses to sell it, using every persuasive power at his command to disparage it and to switch the costumer … Read more

Average – Usually used interchangeably with Arithmetic Mean, which is found by summing a group of numbers and dividing by the number of items. It is important to know the data from which the average is derived before concluding anything from it. (2) Any of the several Measures of Central Tendency. Average Cost – Total … Read more

Atmosphere – The physical characteristics of the store such as architecture, layout, signs and displays, color, lighting, temperature, noise, and smells creating an image in the customer’s mind. Atmospheric – The store architecture, layout lighting, color scheme, temperature, access, noise, assortment, prices, special events, etc., that serve as a stimuli and attention attractors of consumers … Read more

Agency Cost – The dollar reduction in welfare experienced by the principal due to inherent nature of the agency relationship with management. Agency of Record (AOR) – An advertising agency assigned specific media buying responsibilities by a client. Agency Theory – A theory of the firm that seeks to explain corporate activities as arising out … Read more

Body Type – The kind of type ordinarily used for reading matter, as distinguished form display type which is used for headlines. Bogus Work – The work done as required by some union contracts in which compositors reset advertisements for which the publication has received Mats or Plates. The reset material is not used for … Read more

Biogenic Needs – Same as: Primary Needs Bipolar Adjectives – The pair of adjectives that define the opposite ends of the variations in an attitude.                                             See: Semantic Differential Scale Bird Dog – An … Read more

Adjacencies Plan – A store layout plan that determines which categories of merchandise will be placed adjacent to each other. Adjacency – A program immediately preceding or following a specific Broadcast time period or program. Adjustment – (1) The satisfying of a customer’s claim that a shipment was not as ordered or that the price was … Read more

Acquisition Value – The buyer’s perceptions of the relative worth of a product or service to them. It is formally defined as the subjectively weighted difference between the most a buyer would be willing to pay for the item less the actual price of the item. Across the Board – A designation for a broadcast program … Read more