| 词源 |
comparison shopper. Comparison shoppers had their hey- day from the 1920s to the 1960s. They originated, however, in the early 20th century price wars of department stores and were at first simply a clerk whom a buyer would send across the street to get an idea of his competitor’s prices. Then compari- son departments were formed, the average New York depart- ment store employing four or five professional shoppers, “the eyes and ears of the store,” to study the stock, prices, and cus- tomers of rival stores and report back to their employers. This was essential to stores like Macy’s with its long-standing policy of selling all merchandise at 6 percent below the prices of other stores. Macy’s comparison shoppers were so wily that they sometimes wore disguises. |