Question

Singing in the Rain Umbrella Corp. plans to institute a marketing campaign in which it sells umbrellas at the exits of subway stations during rainy weather. The umbrellas will be sold at a price that is slightly higher than normal. The company thinks the sales of these higher - priced umbrellas will be greater than normal sales of umbrellas, because the purchasers of these umbrellas will be forced to buy them if they do not want to get wet. The author assumes which of the following about the purchasers of the umbrellas in predicting the sales of the umbrellas?

• A. Customers who do not feel immediate pressure to purchase will not do so.
• B. Normally priced umbrellas are not profitable for singing in the Rain Umbrellas Corp.
• C. Very few people buy Singing in the Rain's normally priced umbrellas.
• D. Singing in the Rain Umbrellas Corp. will have to stop selling normally priced umbrellas when it starts selling higher priced umbrellas.
• E. Most potential customers of Singing in the Rain's higher priced umbrellas will not have acquired an umbrella previously.

Hint:

When an argument claims a certain group of people will be "forced" into an action, the key assumption is often that they lack any alternative. Look for the answer choice that removes the most likely alternative.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is a Critical Reasoning question asking for a necessary assumption of the argument. The argument's conclusion is that sales will be high because customers will be "forced to buy" to avoid getting wet. We need to identify an unstated premise that must be true for this conclusion to hold.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The Argument: People exiting a subway into the rain will be forced to buy a higher-priced umbrella.
The Conclusion: Sales will be greater than normal.
The Logic Gap/Assumption: The argument assumes that the people exiting the subway are vulnerable and have no other option. What would make them have no other option? The most obvious reason is that they don't already have an umbrella with them. If they did have an umbrella, they would not be "forced" to buy a new, higher-priced one. The plan's success depends on the customers being unprepared.
Let's analyze the options:

(A) This is a reasonable statement, but not the core assumption. The argument is about why people \textit{will} feel pressure, not about those who won't.
(B) Profitability of normally priced umbrellas is irrelevant to the sales prediction of the new plan.
(C) The normal sales volume isn't the key assumption; the plan just predicts sales will be \textit{greater} than normal.
(D) The company's other business operations are not relevant to the prediction.
(E) This is the correct answer. It directly addresses the core assumption. If potential customers already had an umbrella, they would not be "forced" to buy a new one. The plan relies on the customers' lack of a pre-existing umbrella.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The success of the marketing plan depends on customers being caught in the rain without an umbrella, making them a captive audience. Option (E) is the assumption that these potential customers are indeed unprepared.