Why Americans Pay More for Lunch

This summer Pret A Manger, purveyor of sandwiches to desk-workers in the white-collar cities of the West, added lobster rolls to its menu. In Britain they cost £5.99 ($7.31); in America $9.99. In both countries they are filled with lobster from Maine, along with cucumber, mayonnaise and more. Rent and labour cost about the same in London as in downtown New York or Boston. Neither sticker price includes sales tax. Yet a Pret lobster roll in America is a third pricier than in Britain, even though the lobster comes from nearer by.考生如果怕自己錯(cuò)過(guò)考試成績(jī)查詢的話，可以 免費(fèi)預(yù)約短信提醒，屆時(shí)會(huì)以短信的方式提醒大家報(bào)名和考試時(shí)間。

This Pret price gap is not limited to lobster rolls. According to data gathered by The Economist on the dozen Pret sandwiches that are most similar in the two countries, the American ones cost on average 74% more. An egg sandwich in New York costs $4.99 to London’s £1.79, more than double. A tuna baguette costs two-thirds more. The price mismatch is intriguing – the more so for The Economist, which publishes the Big Mac index, a cross-country comparison of burger prices, which shows a 43% transatlantic disparity.

Menu pricing starts with a simple rule, says John Buchanan of the consulting arm of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, a restaurant group: take the cost of ingredients and multiply by three. Then ask yourself how much customers would expect to pay for a dish of this type, and how much they would expect to pay for it from you. A Pret lobster roll and one from a fancy seafood restaurant are quite different propositions. Lastly, check what the competition charges. “Only a small part of this decision is what I would call scientific,” says Mr Buchanan. “A lot has to do with a subjective judgment of what the market will bear.”

The lunch market is local. New Yorkers do not care about prices in London. And they – alongside Bostonians and Washingtonians – are used to their local high prices, for reasons that include bigger portions (though not at Pret) and tipping habits. Londoners are keener on sandwich lunches, which means stiffer competition in that part of the market.

Often lunch prices vary by neighbourhood. jd Wetherspoon, a British pub chain, prides itself on low prices, but allows them to differ by branch. In 2017 the Financial Times found that the most expensive Spoons charged over 40% more than the cheapest one. They also vary by time: many restaurants charge more for dinner than for lunch. Perceptions of value for money are relative not absolute. For Pret’s lobster rolls, it’s a case of claws and effect.

為什么美國(guó)人的午餐更貴

今年夏天，為歐美的白領(lǐng)上班族供應(yīng)三明治的Pret A Manger在菜單中加上了龍蝦卷。其售價(jià)在英國(guó)是5.99英鎊(7.31美元)，在美國(guó)是9.99美元。這兩個(gè)國(guó)家的龍蝦卷都裹著緬因州的龍蝦，配黃瓜和蛋黃醬等。倫敦的租金、勞動(dòng)力成本和紐約或波士頓市中心差不多。兩國(guó)的標(biāo)價(jià)都不包括銷售稅。盡管美國(guó)離龍蝦產(chǎn)地更近，但Pret龍蝦卷在那里的售價(jià)卻比英國(guó)貴了三分之一。

Pret存在價(jià)差的菜品并不只有龍蝦卷。本刊收集的兩國(guó)最為相似的12種Pret三明治的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，美國(guó)的定價(jià)比英國(guó)平均高出74%。一個(gè)雞蛋三明治在紐約售價(jià)4.99美元，比倫敦的1.79英鎊高出一倍多。一條金槍魚(yú)法棍三明治則要貴三分之二。這種價(jià)格的差異很有意思。作為巨無(wú)霸指數(shù)(Big Mac index)的發(fā)布者，本刊對(duì)此尤其感興趣。巨無(wú)霸指數(shù)比較了漢堡包在各國(guó)的售價(jià)，結(jié)果顯示大西洋兩岸的價(jià)差達(dá)到43%。

餐飲集團(tuán)Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises咨詢部門(mén)的約翰·布坎南(John Buchanan)表示，菜單定價(jià)的起始規(guī)則很簡(jiǎn)單，就是將原料成本乘以三。然后再問(wèn)問(wèn)自己：顧客會(huì)花多少錢(qián)買(mǎi)這道菜，又會(huì)花多少錢(qián)從你這里買(mǎi)這道菜。Pret的龍蝦卷和高檔海鮮餐廳的龍蝦卷就完全是兩碼事。最后，還要看競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的售價(jià)。“我認(rèn)為這種定價(jià)決策只有一小部分是科學(xué)的，”布坎南說(shuō)，“它有很大一部分是基于對(duì)市場(chǎng)承受力的主觀判斷。”

午餐市場(chǎng)是“各自為政”。紐約客不關(guān)心倫敦的價(jià)格。而且他們和波士頓及華盛頓的居民一樣，已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了本地的高價(jià)，個(gè)中原因包括食物分量更大(盡管Pret的分量不大)和付小費(fèi)的習(xí)慣等。而倫敦人更喜歡拿三明治當(dāng)午餐，所以當(dāng)?shù)厥袌?chǎng)在這一塊的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)更加激烈。

午餐價(jià)格往往因地段而異。英國(guó)連鎖酒吧jd Wetherspoon雖然以自己的低價(jià)為驕傲，但也允許各家分店有不同價(jià)格。2017年，《金融時(shí)報(bào)》發(fā)現(xiàn)，最貴的和最便宜的Spoons餐廳的價(jià)格相差40%以上。價(jià)格也因時(shí)間而異，許多餐廳的晚市收費(fèi)比午市高。人們對(duì)是否劃算的理解是相對(duì)而非絕對(duì)的。而對(duì)Pret龍蝦卷來(lái)說(shuō)，這就要看蝦鉗肉是否討人喜歡了。

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