Note that the second one is answered not by computing the prices per pill, but by noticing that buying in bulk is nearly always cheaper (and possibly that it has to be so if manufacturers are trying to make a profit).
Actually, its is not uncommon in the U.S. for the big retail chains like Whole Foods to violate this expectation that larger quantities are nearly always cheaper per unit.
Why do they do that? Because it is a way to distinguish between buyers who are willing to do the calculation and those who are not. Well, to be more precise, it is a way to get a higher price from those unwilling to do the math while at the same time retaining the custom of those who are willing. Practices of this kind are known by economists and marketing professionals as “segmenting the market”, retail discount coupons’ being an older and more often cited example.
There is a supermarket a couple of 100 yards from here, so I went over there, where I learned the following.
Sale items are exempt from the requirement to display the unit price.
The unit price on one brand of chickpeas was expressed as dollars per ounce. Next to it was another brand of chickpeas whose unit price was expressed in dollars per can.
Note that the second one is answered not by computing the prices per pill, but by noticing that buying in bulk is nearly always cheaper (and possibly that it has to be so if manufacturers are trying to make a profit).
Actually, its is not uncommon in the U.S. for the big retail chains like Whole Foods to violate this expectation that larger quantities are nearly always cheaper per unit.
Why do they do that? Because it is a way to distinguish between buyers who are willing to do the calculation and those who are not. Well, to be more precise, it is a way to get a higher price from those unwilling to do the math while at the same time retaining the custom of those who are willing. Practices of this kind are known by economists and marketing professionals as “segmenting the market”, retail discount coupons’ being an older and more often cited example.
Is Whole Foods exempt from listing unit price?
I doubt it.
There is a supermarket a couple of 100 yards from here, so I went over there, where I learned the following.
Sale items are exempt from the requirement to display the unit price.
The unit price on one brand of chickpeas was expressed as dollars per ounce. Next to it was another brand of chickpeas whose unit price was expressed in dollars per can.
Hope that helps.
That rule gives a wrong answer here.