Final answer:
1. Marketers perform a situation analysis to assess and interpret information from an environmental scan. 2. Indirect competitors compete for the same customers' limited financial resources. 3. Automobile manufacturers compete in an oligopoly market structure with barriers to entry. 4. A depression is characterized by rising unemployment and declining consumer spending. 5. Buying a new widescreen TV is a discretionary purchase using discretionary income.
Step-by-step explanation:
1. Marketers will assess and interpret information obtained in an environmental scan by performing a situation analysis. This involves analyzing the internal and external factors that can impact a company's marketing strategy, such as competition, consumer behavior, and market trends.
2. The marketing environment includes different types of competitors. Indirect competitors compete for the limited financial resources of the same customers. These are companies that offer alternative solutions or products that address the same customer needs, but in a different way.
3. Automobile manufacturers compete in a oligopoly market structure where there are some barriers to entry. In an oligopoly, a few large firms dominate the market and there are significant barriers to entry, such as high capital requirements and economies of scale.
4. A depression is usually characterized by rising unemployment levels and declining consumer spending. It is an economic downturn that lasts for an extended period and has a significant negative impact on the overall economy.
5. When a consumer purchases a new widescreen television set, she is making a discretionary purchase with what is left of her discretionary income. Discretionary purchases are non-essential items that consumers choose to buy with the money they have after covering their essential expenses.