Vocabulary
Study the following vocabulary.
Prices
sale – a special offer of goods or services for a reduced price
NOTE: items are said to be "on sale", and you can say "there is a great sale at Tesco this week")
discount – the amount of the price reduction during a sale, usually expressed as either a percentage of the original price (10% discount, or 10% off), or a fixed amount (a 20 dollar discount)
low-end – the least expensive model of a given type of product on the market, also called "bottom-end" (NOTE: the most expensive model is described as "high-end" or "top-end". Those in the middle are called "mid-range"
mass market – goods that sell in high volume to average consumers, for example family cars, PCs, mobile phones, etc. Also used to describe the group of consumers.
niche market – goods that sell to a specific group of consumers(often at higher prices than mass market goods). A good example is luxury or sports cars, or certain PCs or phones with special business applications.
price hike – industry term for a price increase (NOTE: a price decrease is referred to as a "price cut")
price boom – a period in which prices in a given market are rising rapidly and sales are high - often happens when new, popular products are introduced onto the market
price war – when competition leads companies to reduce prices back and forth in an effort to maintain or win market share
price control – government policy limiting price increases, common with housing prices and utilities (electricity, gas, fuel)
price tag – the small label attached to goods which indicates the correct price