F.— ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND STATISTICS 127 



lieu of paying their accounts. The mission examined the possibiUties 

 of centralised selling, and the warehousing at central points of stocks 

 adequate to the market. The views expressed by those engaged in the 

 trade laid stress on the necessity of continuing to use the Chinese inter- 

 mediary system, whatever change might be made in creating a central 

 body with depots to introduce and carry the goods. 



The Need for Market Investigation. 



It may be asked, however, whether general surveys of market diffi- 

 culties, such as the British Economic Missions have made, are either 

 adequate for their purpose or convey any clear conception of the marketing 

 position. In rapid visits they are bound to collect the faults and the 

 fault-finders, without having time to get a sense of proportion. No doubt 

 there are weaknesses in selling organisation, but Britain has no monopoly 

 of shortcomings and her methods are much the same, it may be urged, as 

 those of most of her competitors. Such questions are not capable of being 

 directly answered ; it is obvious that if the missions have found serious 

 faults, attempts should be made to remedy them, even if the U.S.A. 

 methods are also faulty ; and further, with changing trade conditions it 

 would indeed be peculiar if the field of selling organisation did not show 

 tendencies to change, develop and experiment with new ways of adjusting 

 demand. It is in fact well known that selling method has been changing 

 rapidly in the large domestic markets of Britain and the U.S.A. within 

 the last twelve years. 



This is ground for asking if such missions get close enough to their 

 work, and have a broad enough conception of their task. 



What is really wanted is a thorough inquiry into the general market 

 position as a background for action. There is the grading and grouping 

 of consumers, the amounts of their family budgets and standards of living, 

 their habits of expenditure, prejudices, preferences, methods of pur- 

 chase ; the general character of the distributive structure, the position of 

 merchanting, agency, direct trading, and so on ; the variations by regions 

 and the variations by season in demand. Last comes the commodity 

 marketing investigation, the position of old products and of new ones. 

 The position of an established product may be described with reference 

 to its users and present uses, the price Hmits within which it sells, the 

 existing brands and qualities, reasons for successful expansion of sales 

 or of failure, the completeness of its distributive arrangements and its 

 usual terms of sale, delivery and so on. Methods of introducing new 

 commodities to the consumer, the use of laboratory shops, estimates of 

 potential demand, satiation points in consumption, all may be the subject 

 of close observation. It may be asked. Who is to undertake such laborious 

 investigation ? Much of it is already done in the U.S.A. and a little in 

 Britain ; the task would not be so overwhelming if it were systematically 

 approached. No doubt manufacturers' own organisations and private 

 agencies could undertake some of the work, but the suggestion may be 

 made that the Department of Overseas Trade, which is in touch with all 

 Britain's overseas markets, might be provided with a staff of marketing 



