... must remember that technology costs a big amount of money but at the same time technological change can create changes in cost structures, new products, e.g. flexible manufacturing systems increasing variety of choice at lower costs, well utilised by the Japanese. One example of how technological change has affected marketing activities is in the development of electronic point of sale (EPOS) data capture at the retail level. The "laser checkout" reads a bar code on the product being purchased and stores information that is used to analyse sales and re-order stock, as well as giving customers a printed readout of what they have purchased and the price charged. Manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods, particularly packaged grocery products, have been forced to respond to these technological innovations by incorporating bar codes on their product labels or packaging. In this way, a change in the technological environment has affected the products ...

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