Core Knowledge Flashcards
What is price elasticity?
How consumers react to prices of goods/services
Price elastic
Sensitive to a change in price
Price Inelastic
Insensitive to change in price
Name factors that affect PED
Brand image
Quality
Price
Ethics
Aesthetics
What is the calculation for PED
Percentage change in quantity demanded/percentage change in price
Price elastic disadvantage line of analysis
- Due to poor customer service a business product may become price elastic
- Leading to less customer loyalty
- If price increases there will be a significant fall in demand
- Leading to pressure to keep prices low
- Leading to lower revenue
- Reducing gross profit margins
Price inelastic line of analysis
- By conducting R&D a business is more differentiated compared to competitors
- Therefore there will be an increase in customer loyalty as the businesses products are unique
- Making them price in elastic so they can charge higher prices without a fall in demand
- Leading to an increase in revenue
- Increasing gross profit margins
What is income elasticity of demand?
How consumers react to a change in income. This is a study how consumers change what they buy due to income change.
Luxury
Income elastic
+1
Normal
1-0
Income inelastic
Inferior
Negative number
Income elastic
Calculation for income elasticity of demand
Percentage change in quantity demanded/Percentage change in income x YED
Luxury goods line of analysis
- Business is vulnerable to change in average income
- Many people lose their jobs there will be a fall in demand
- Significant fall in demand as consumers switch to a cheaper alternative
- Leading to a fall in revenue and gross profit
- As well as operating loss meaning they will have to reduce their expenses
- Meaning they have to sell their non current assets so they won’t be able to operate.. reducing scale
Normal goods line of analysis
- A business that sells normal goods are likely to have stable and predictable sales
- This is because when income changes demand does not change very much
- This means they are unlikely to see a significant fall in profits when incomes change
- Unlikely to make a loss and be able to keep up with loan repayments
- Meaning they get lower interest rates in loans leading to lower costs
- Therefore the business is attractive to banks as it is a safe investment
Inferior goods line of analysis
- When unemployment is high incomes will be lower and demand for inferior goods will increase
- The business may need to be flexible to able to respond to an unexpected change in income so they can increase production of a good to meet the new demand
- This will lead to an increase in gross profit
- The flexibility will also help them reduce production when incomes rise again
- This will help ensure they can reduce operating costs when demand falls and therefore avoid a loss
How can you reduce risk?
- By selling products around the world
- By having a wide product portfolio
Line of analysis for spreading risk (positive)
- If a business sells normal, luxury and inferior goods
- They will have a balanced product portfolio
- They will be less vulnerable to changes in consumer incomes
- Therefore, if incomes fall
- Businesses will still experience a consistent demand, as consumers switch from luxury to inferior
- Consistent cash inflows as sales haven’t dropped
- Positive net cash flow
- Able to pay day to day bills
Spreading risk line of analysis (negative)
- However by having a balanced product portfolio
- Business will need to identify needs of multiple segments
- For example.. consumers with high incomes and consumers with lower incomes
- Collecting valid data from multiple groups will require a large sample
- Business will need specialist researchers
- Who require high salaries
- Increased expenses
- Fall in operating profit
What is economies of scale?
The reduction of average costs by a business as output rises
Calculation for unit costs
Total fixed costs + total variable costs/total number of units
What are the 4 types of Economies of scale?
- Purchasing
- Marketing
- Financial
- Technical
What is purchasing economies of scale?
Where a business buys a product in bulk to get a discount
What is marketing economies of scale?
The idea of spreading fixed costs of marketing over more units
What is financial economies of scale?
The idea that larger businesses are seen by lenders as more reliable or worthy of credit due to their size, whereas smaller businesses will tend to pay higher rates of interest as they aren’t as reliable as don’t have as much collateral.
What is technical economies of scale?
The idea that a larger businesses more readily have the capital to invest in newer and better technology, which can bring them cost advantages smaller businesses are otherwise unable to achieve.
Purchasing economies of scale line of analysis
- If sales increase
- There will be an increase in the amount of .. from suppliers
- Leading to a potential discount from bulk buying
- Leading to lower average cost of sales/variable costs
- Increased gross profit margin
Marketing economies of scale, line of analysis
- When businesses have increased sales
- Increase sales volume
- Meaning the cost of market research etc can be spread over more units
- Lower cost per unit
- Making the above more affordable and can therefore can do it more
- Link to the advantages of doing more of the above (improved product development)
Financial economies of scale, line of analysis
- Large businesses have significant non current assets
- Meaning they have more collateral for loans
- Lower risks for bank
- Lower interest rates
- Lower fixed costs
- Lower fixed costs per unit
Technical economies of scale, line of analysis
- As businesses grow they begin they begin to make better use of capital/machinery or have the resources to invest in more
- Further/increased use of machinery will improve productivity and further increase output
- Spreading fixed costs of production.. labour, rent and utilities over more units
- Lowering unit cost of producing a product
- Allowing businesses to lower the selling price/ increase gross profit margin