# Space Management in Supermarkets: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 1, Test 3, Listening Part 4

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 1, Test 3, Listening Part 4. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 33 | displays | Which provides information from customers about their views on displays and products |
| 34 | TV cameras | the hidden television cameras that film us as we shop. ... And monitor our physical movement around the supermarket aisles. |
| 35 | recorder | such devices as the eye movement recorder. ... recording the most eye-catching areas of shelves and aisles. |
| 36 | Spaceman | Now an example of this is Spaceman ... Now, Spaceman works by receiving information from the electronic checkouts |
| 37 | position | the most profitable combination of an article and its position in the store. |
| 38 | walk past | Now products placed here at the beginning of aisles don't sell well. ... we walk straight past these areas on our way to the center of an aisle. |
| 39 | at eye level | Now products displayed here sell well and do even better if they're placed at eye level |
| 40 | hot spots | manufacturers pay a lot for these shelf areas. ... Which are known in the trade as hot spots. |
| 41 | special offers | the end of an aisle may be used for promoting special offers |
| 42 | chocolates | That's why the shelves at the checkout have long been a favorite for manufacturers of chocolates. |

## Why these answers are right

**33. displays.** The table row says questionnaires show what customers think about something. The speaker explains that the questionnaire gives information from customers about their views on displays and products, helping retailers decide what to put where. Displays and products fits, and either noun alone is accepted.

**34. TV cameras.** This row needs the method that shows how customers move along the aisles. The speaker describes hidden television cameras that film shoppers and monitor their physical movement around the supermarket aisles. Hidden television cameras uses exactly three words, and TV cameras is also accepted.

**35. recorder.** The table already prints Eye movement, so only the next word is missing. The speaker names the eye movement recorder, a device in a headband that traces where shoppers look and records the most eye-catching areas of shelves. The missing word is recorder.

The why and the trap for questions 36 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/space-management-in-supermarkets/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 4.

**Announcer:** Now listen to the first part of the talk, and complete the table by filling in the numbered spaces 33 to 37.

**Marketing Consultant:** Good morning.

**Marketing Consultant:** Welcome to this talk on space management, and today I'm going to look particularly at space management in the supermarket.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. Now since the time supermarkets began, marketing consultants like us have been gathering information about customers' shopping habits.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. To date, various research methods have been used to help promote the sales of supermarket products.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. There is for example the simple and direct questionnaire.

**Marketing Consultant:** Which provides information from customers about their views on displays and products, and then helps retailers make decisions about what to put where.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. Another method to help managers understand just how shoppers go around their stores are the hidden television cameras that film us as we shop.

**Marketing Consultant:** And monitor our physical movement around the supermarket aisles.

**Marketing Consultant:** Hmm. Where do we start?

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. What do we buy last?

**Marketing Consultant:** What attracts us, et cetera.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. More sophisticated techniques now include video surveillance and such devices as the eye movement recorder.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. This is a device which shoppers volunteer to wear taped into a headband.

**Marketing Consultant:** And which traces their eye movements as they walk around the shop, recording the most eye-catching areas of shelves and aisles.

**Marketing Consultant:** But with today's technology, space management is now a highly sophisticated method of manipulating the way we shop to ensure maximum profit.

**Marketing Consultant:** Supermarkets are able to invest millions of pounds in powerful computers which tell them what sells best and where.

**Marketing Consultant:** Now an example of this is Spaceman, which is a computer program that helps the retailer to decide which particular product sells best in which part of the store.

**Marketing Consultant:** Now, Spaceman works by receiving information from the electronic checkouts where customers pay.

**Marketing Consultant:** On how well a product is selling in a particular position.

**Marketing Consultant:** Spaceman then suggests the most profitable combination of an article and its position in the store.

**Announcer:** Now you have some time to look at questions 38 to 42.

**Announcer:** As you listen to the rest of the talk, label the diagram by filling in the numbered spaces 38 to 42.

**Marketing Consultant:** So, let's have a look at what we know about supermarkets, and the way people behave when they walk down the aisles and take the articles they think they need from the shelves.

**Marketing Consultant:** Now here's a diagram of one supermarket aisle and two rows of shelves.

**Marketing Consultant:** Here's the entrance at the top left-hand corner.

**Marketing Consultant:** Now products placed here at the beginning of aisles don't sell well.

**Marketing Consultant:** In tests, secret fixed cameras have filmed shoppers' movements around a store over a seven-day period.

**Marketing Consultant:** When the film is speeded up, it clearly shows that we walk straight past these areas on our way to the center of an aisle.

**Marketing Consultant:** Items placed here just don't attract people.

**Marketing Consultant:** When we finally stop at the center of an aisle, we pause and take stock, casting our eyes along the length of it.

**Marketing Consultant:** Now products displayed here sell well and do even better if they're placed at eye level, so that the customer's eyes hit upon them instantly.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh. Products here are snapped up, and manufacturers pay a lot for these shelf areas.

**Marketing Consultant:** Which are known in the trade as hot spots.

**Marketing Consultant:** Naturally everyone wants their products to be in a hot spot.

**Marketing Consultant:** Hmm.

**Marketing Consultant:** But the prime positions in the store are the ends of the aisles, otherwise known as gondola ends.

**Marketing Consultant:** Now these stand out and grab our attention.

**Marketing Consultant:** For this reason, many new products are launched in these positions, and manufacturers are charged widely varying prices for this privileged spot.

**Marketing Consultant:** Also, um, the end of an aisle may be used for promoting special offers, which are frequently found waiting for us as we turn the corner of an aisle.

**Marketing Consultant:** Well, now, eventually, of course we have to pay.

**Marketing Consultant:** Uh huh.

**Marketing Consultant:** Any spot where a supermarket can be sure we are going to stand still and concentrate for more than a few seconds is good for sales.

**Marketing Consultant:** That's why the shelves at the checkout have long been a favorite for manufacturers of chocolates.

**Marketing Consultant:** Perhaps the most sure fire impulse food of all.

**Announcer:** That is the end of section 4.

**Announcer:** You now have half a minute to check your answers.

[Practice Space Management in Supermarkets](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/space-management-in-supermarkets)