次の英文を読み、下記の設問に答えよ。
For eight months up to this April, a French bookstore chain had video in a Paris shop fed to software that (1) scrutinises shoppers' movements and facial expressions for surprise, dissatisfaction, confusion or hesitation. When a shopper walked to the end of an aisle only to return with a frown to a bookshelf, the software discreetly messaged clerks, who went to help. Sales rose by a tenth.
The bookseller wants to keep its name quiet for now. Numerous other French clients of the Parisbased start-up company behind this technology, including transportation companies and supermarkets, are experimenting with it in shops not open to the public. In a recent trial in Tallinn, Estonia, an emotion-detection firm based in London, showed that (A) shoppers who entered smiling spent about a third more than others.
Simple video (2) yields a lot of insight. But there are far more sophisticated and intimate ways of learning about emotions of shoppers. Thermal-imaging cameras can detect the heart rate. Wirelessly captured data from smartphone accelerometers can suggest when shoppers become fascinated (movement often stops) or are fretting over prices (a phone is repeatedly raised to search for cheaper products online). For even more insights, shoppers are sometimes asked to put on a special kit, typically ( イ ) a discount or other reward. Such wearable gadgets, for example, measure moisture and electrical resistance on hand skin to reveal arousal.
All of this could be ( ロ ), some say, for bricks-and-mortar retailers to trim the advantage that data have long given online sellers. A race is on to work out how best to collect and use emotions data, be it to improve packaging, displays, music, or the content and timing of sales pitches, says Rana June, chief executive of a firm in New York. It measures shoppers' emotions for retailers, for malls, and for consumer-goods firms.
Not everyone is impressed. Some find it all a little ( ハ ). Nielsen, a major consumer-research company, deems using technology to work out shopper emotions en masse too radical for now. But it is much cheaper than old-fashioned interviews. Nielsen charges around Dollars 10,000 to interview 25 shoppers about three products. The service of the French start-up costs just Euro 59 (Dollars 66) a month per camera. For Dollars 15,000 or so, iMotions, a company based in Copenhagen, gives retailers an EEG cap that detects brain activity, an eye-tracking headset that notes when an attractive object dilates pupils, and a galvanometer.
What's more, conventional market research can mislead. People typically "edit" verbal responses to make themselves sound rational, when purchases are often driven by subconscious emotions. The key is in tracking the unconscious things that shoppers do, says Jeff Hershey of Video Mining, a firm in Pennsylvania whose software also analyses store video. And surveys can also ask the wrong questions – such as how much people like a product when what really matters, notes Simon Harrop of BrandSense, a consultancy in Britain, is whether, say, it makes them feel attractive.
The notion of “retail therapy”, consumers driven to spend when they are feeling ( 二 ), is an obvious example of shopping's emotional side. Whichever store is first to work out how to spot mildly depressed customers could make (3) a bundle.
bricks-and-mortar retailers 店舗を構える販売業者
設問１ 次の1から4について、本文の内容にもっとも合うものを(a)～(d)からそれぞれ１つ選べ。
1. How widespread is the technology described in this article?
(a) It is largely still in the testing stage though there is interest in this technology in many industries.
(b) It is used in many shops in Europe, particularly in bookstores.
(c) The technology is too advanced, so retailers refuse to install it.
(d) This information is secret because many companies are afraid to alarm the customers.
2. What kind of data can be obtained about shoppers through the use of sophisticated technology, such as thermal cameras or accelerometers?
(a) information about shoppers' reactions to a sale or other promotional events
(b) information about the way shoppers talk about products
(c) information regarding customers' levels of interest in a particular product
(d) information related to customers' online shopping trends
3. According to the author, what are the benefits of using technology to understand shoppers'
emotions?
(a) It allows companies to acquire a greater amount of information and do it without customers
being conscious of it.
(b) It is a more rational and radical method of gaining useful insights into the shopping patterns of
today's consumers.
(c) It is a very time-efficient and less costly way to collect valuable information about customers'
past shopping experiences.
(d) It makes it possible to understand shoppers' true feelings at a fraction of the cost of the traditional method.
4. What can be reasonably concluded on the basis of this article?
(a) Digital technology has significant potential for retail businesses.
(b) Most companies are embracing the new market research method enthusiastically.
(c) The drawbacks of using IT for the study of shoppers' emotions outweigh the benefits.
(d) Use of technology to gather consumer data is unethical and should be stopped.
設問２ 下線部(1)–(3)の意味にもっとも近いものを(a)～(d)からそれぞれ１つ選べ。
(1)
(a) analyses
(b) calculates
(c) explicates
(d) predicts
(2)
(a) combines
(b) conceals
(c) develops
(d) produces
(3)
(a) a huge improvement
(b) a lot of money
(c) a valuable contribution
(d) an important discovery
設問3. 空所( イ )~( 二 )を埋めるのにもっとも適当なものを(a)~(d)からそれぞれ一つ選べ。
(イ)
(a) in exchange for
(b) in favor of
(c) in need of
(d) in relation to
(ロ)
(a) a justification
(b) a mistake
(c) a pretext
(d) an opportunity
(ハ)
(a) too conclusive
(c) too conservative
(c) too invasive
(d) too simplistic
(二)
(a) blue
(b) green
(c) relieved
(d) sinister
設問４ 下線部(A)を日本語に訳せ。
質問と回答