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“When a customer enters my store，forget me．He is king．”decreed John Wanamaker，who in 1876 turned an abandoned railway depot in Philadelphia into one of the world's first department stores．^①This revolutionary concept changed the face of retailing and led to the development of advertising and marketing as we know it today．

But compelling as that slogan was，in truth the shopper was cheated of the crown．^②Although manufacturing efficiency boosted the variety of goods and lowered prices，advertising provided most information about products．Through much of the past century，ads spoke to a captive audience confined to just a few radio or television channels or a limited number of publications．^③Now media choice has exploded too，and consumers select what they want from a far greater variety of sources—especially with a few clicks of a computer mouse．Thanks to the Internet，the consumer is finally seizing power．

As our survey shows，consumer power has profound implications for companies，because it is changing the way the world shops．Many firms already claim to be“customer-driven”or“consumer-centric”．Now their claims will be tested as never before．Trading on shoppers' ignorance will no longer be possible:people will know—and soon tell others，even those without the Internet—that prices in the next town are cheaper or that certain goods are inferior．The Internet is working wonders in raising standards．Good and honest firms should benefit most．

But it is also intensifying competition．Today，window shopping takes place online．People can compare products，prices and reputations．They can read what companies say about products in far greater detail，but also how that tallies with the opinions of others，and—most importantly of all—discover what previous buyers have to say．Newsgroups and websites constantly review products and services．

This is changing the nature of consumer decisions．Until recently，consumers usually learned about a product and made their choice at the same time．People would often visit a department store or dealership to seek advice from a salesman，look at his recommendations and then buy．^④Now，for many，each of these steps is separate．For instance，Ford is finding that eight out of ten of its customers have already used the Internet to decide what car they want to buy—and what they are willing to pay—even before they arrive at a showroom．^⑤

Of course，the amount of time people spend researching and checking prices tends to rise in proportion to the value of the product—and cars are expensive．^⑥But consumers are displaying similar behavior when they purchase other things，such as digital cameras，mobile phones or fashionable clothes．And while supermarket shoppers may not research in this way all the individual items they drop into their trolley，many suppliers of the packaged goods sold in supermarkets are already acutely aware that their customers，too，are better informed than ever before about the value or health implications of the products they sell．^⑦

Reaching these better-informed consumers with a marketing message is not easy，and not only because they are more skeptical．Many people now spend as much time surfing the Web as they do with television，magazines or newspapers．The audience for advertising is splintering and its attention is hard to attract．On top of that，many people are arming themselves with technology to avoid marking messages，such as pop-up adblockers for the Internet and personal video recorders that make it easy to skip TV commercials．

Despite the flood of product and price information suddenly available，consumers are unlikely ever to become wholly calculating．Tastes and fashion will defer．Brands are likely to remain popular．But brand loyalties are weakening．A slip or delay can cost a firm dearly and hand the advantage to an opportunistic rival．This is how Apple's iPod snatched from Sony the market leadership in portable-music devices．

Many firms do not yet seem aware of the revolutionary implications of newly empowered consumers．Too many companies relaxed after the bursting of the dotcom bubble，assuming that the online threat had faded．^⑧This was a mistake．It is true that the vast majority of people still go to shops for most purchases(though online sales continue to grow)．^⑨Before doing that，however，most have used the Internet．More than 90%of people aged between 18 and 54 told America's Online Publishers Association in a survey that they would turn to the Internet first for product information．^⑩The differences between the virtual and the bricks-and-mortar worlds do not worry consumers．But they should worry companies．Many consumers first encounter a firm through its website，and yet for too many firms，their online presence remains a low priority．

By contrast，some business have embraced the Internet wholeheartedly，and been rewarded for it．Dell has by-passed retailers and used direct sales to become the world's leading supplier of personal computers．The web is also transforming the travel business，giving consumers the power to book flights，hotels and cars directly．And it has allowed hundreds of thousands of small businesses，from mom-and-pop stores to traders of collectibles on eBay，to reach a global market．

The explosion of choice that followed the opening of Mr．Wanamaker's store is minuscule compared with the cornucopia already provided by the Internet．But the consumer's choice is about to become even greater．Internet search firms such as Google，Yahoo!and MSN are now falling over each other to offer more localized services．These promise to open up a new goldmine in search advertising．And soon this facility will be available not just on PCs at home or work，but on mobile phones．At a touch，consumers will be able to find a local store and then check the offers from nearby outlets even as they browse the aisles，or listen to a salesman．When that happens consumers will truly be kings，and only those firms ready and able to serve these new monarchs will survive．

New Words and Expressions

1．Power at last题目可以理解为:Seizing power at last;Get on last;The Internet gives the consumers power at last．但一般题目只用片语，以求简洁。

6．captive(a．)not free to leave a particular place or choose what you want to do受限制的。captive audience受制听众(指心理上被动接受广告等宣传的一群人)

7．confine(v．)to keep somebody inside the limits of a particular activity限制

12．centric(a．)at the point towards which people direct their attention以…为中心的

14．window shopping the activity of looking at things but not buying anything(在街上)溜达看看橱窗

18．dealership(n．)a business that buys and sells products，especially cars for a particular company专项商品(尤指汽车)经销店

19．showroom(n．)a large room where you can look at cars or other big things that are for sale(汽车)展览厅;(商品样品)陈列室。展览馆里的展厅一般叫exhibition hall。

20．know-alls也可以说know-it-all。一个百事通的人叫a know-all或a know-it-all。

24．arm somebody with something:to provide somebody with something in order to avoid something以某物武装某人

25．pop-up(a．)that can be brought to screen quickly while you are working on another document有弹出式功能的

28．virtual(a．)made to appear to exist by the use of computer software(通过计算机软件)虚拟的。如:virtual shopping网络购物

29．empower(v．)to give somebody the power or authority to do something给(某人)…权力

33．the bricks and mortar砖头和(砌砖用的)砂浆，意为实物(俚语)。本文中用连字符连接，作形容词用，意为“现实的，真实的”

40．cornucopia(n．)lots of information大量信息。它的原意为horn of plenty，希腊神话中一个神奇的羊角，从中源源不断地流出财宝。转意为a large quantity and variety

1．“When a customer enters my store，forget me．He is king，”decreed John Wanamaker，who in 1876 turned an abandoned railway depot in Philadelphia into one of the world's first department stores．本句使用了倒装结构，强调引号内的内容。主语是John Wanamaker，谓语是decreed，who引导的是定语从句，修饰主语John Wanamaker。

2．But compelling as that slogan was，in truth the shopper was cheated of the crown．本句中，主句是“the shopper was cheated of the crown”;“compelling as that slogan was”是让步状语从句，其中从句的主语是“that slogan”，表语是“was compelling”。

3．Through much of the past century，ads spoke to a captive audience confined to just a few radio or television channels or a limited number of publications．本句中，主句是“ads spoke to audience”;而“confined to just a few radio or television channels or a limited number of publications”是省略了“who are”的定语从句，修饰“audience”。

4．People would often visit a department store or dealership to seek advice from a salesman，look at his recommendations and then buy．本句中，主语是“people”，谓语是“would visit”，宾语是“a department store or dealership”，而不定式短语“to seek advice from a salesman，look at his recommendations and then buy”作目的状语。

5．For instance，Ford is finding that eight out of ten of its customers have already used the Internet to decide what car they want to buy—and what they are willing to pay—even before they arrive at a showroom．本句中，that从句作整个句子的宾语。其中，“even before they arrive at a showroom”是句中的时间状语从句;而“eight out of ten of its customers”是句中主句的主语，have already used是谓语，the Internet是宾语，不定式短语to decide作目的状语，而“what car they want to buy—and what they are willing to pay”是decide的宾语。

6．Of course，the amount of time people spend researching and checking prices tends to rise in proportion to the value of the product—and cars are expensive．本句中，句子主干为:Time tends to rise．其中，“people spend researching and checking prices”是省略了that\which的定语从句，修饰先行词time。

7．And while supermarket shoppers may not research in this way all the individual items they drop into their trolley，many suppliers of the packaged goods sold in supermarkets are already acutely aware that their customers，too，are better informed than ever before about the value or health implications of the products they sell．本句中，while相当于although，引导的是一个让步状语从句。而主句中，主语是many suppliers，“of the packaged goods sold in supermarkets”作后置定语修饰suppliers。that引导的表语从句“their customers，too，are better informed than ever before about the value or health implications of the products they sell”中使用了动词短语“be informed about something”作谓语。

8．Too many companies relaxed after the bursting of the dotcom bubble，assuming that the online threat had faded．本句主语是companies，谓语是relaxed，“after the bursting of the dot.com bubble”作时间状语，“assuming that the online threat had faded”作伴随状语。

9．It is true that the vast majority of people still go to shops for most purchases(though online sales continue to grow)．本句中it作形式主语，真正的主语是that从句。因为主语太长，放在句首难免显得头重脚轻，因此用it作形式主语。

10．More than 90%of people aged between 18 and 54 told America's Online Publishers Association in a survey that they would turn to the Internet first for product information．本句主语是people，“aged between 18 and 25”可以理解为省略了“who are”，作后置定语，修饰people;谓语是told，直接宾语是America's Online Publishers Association，that从句作间接宾语。

11．The explosion of choice that followed the opening of Mr．Wanamaker's store is minuscule compared with the cornucopia already provided by the Internet．本句中，主语是“the explosion of choice”，表语是“is minuscule”，“compared with the cornucopia”是一个过去分词短语，作方式状语。

12．When that happens consumers will truly be kings，and only those firms ready and able to serve these new monarchs will survive．本句中，“When that happens”作时间状语从句，主句的句子主干为“consumers will be kings and those firms will survive。其中，“ready and able to serve those new monarchs”之前省略了“who are”，作定语修饰those firms。