503 Glossary traits. Behavioral and emotional characteristics that make each individual unique. (16) transmission. Act of sending a message. (9) trend research. Research that shows what has happened in the past as an indicator of the future. (6) trustworthy. Worthy of people’s confi dence. (16) U uncontrollable risk. Situation that cannot be predicted or covered by purchasing insurance. (18) uniform resource locator (URL). Unique Internet address of a document, web page, or website. (14) uninsurable risk. Risk that an insurance company will not cover. (18) unit pricing. Practice of pricing of goods based on a standard unit of measure, such as an ounce or a pound. (8) universal product code (UPC). A 13-digit bar code that contains various pieces of information about each item. (7) usage rate. How often customers use or buy a product or service. (5) utility. Attribute that makes a business or product capable of satisfying a need or want defi nes how or why something is useful. (1) V value. Relative worth of a product. (8) value-based pricing. See demand-based pricing. values. Beliefs about what is good or appropriate. (5) variable expense. Business expense that changes based on the activities of the business. (8) vending machine. Coin-, bill-, or credit-card machines used to sell small products. (3) vendor. Person or business that sells something. (3) Company from which a buyer purchases merchandise. (6) verbal communication. Speaking. (9) viral marketing. Information about products that customers or viewers are compelled to pass along to others also known as buzz marketing. (9) visual merchandiser. Person in charge of carrying out the plan for helping develop the store image. (12) visual merchandising. Way merchandise is presented in a store also called presentation. (5) Process of creating fl oor plans and displays to attract customer attention and encourage purchases. (12) volume pricing. Lowering the per-unit price of a product when a higher number of units are purchased at one time. (8) W warehouse club. Retailer that only sells merchandise in bulk. (2) web authoring software. Computer software used to build a website also called web design software. (14) web browser. Software program used to view websites. (14) web design software. See web authoring software. web host. Company that provides a place for a business to post its website onto the Internet. (14) web-influenced sale. Purchase made in a brick- and-mortar store where buyers fi rst researched the products or services on the Internet. (3) web widget. Add-on program that runs when a visitor opens a web page. (14) webmaster. Person responsible for maintaining and updating a website once it has been published. (14) wholesaler. Purchases goods in large quantities directly from manufacturers. (1) wish list. Function of a checkout system that saves selected items in a customer’s shopping cart for a future purchase. (13) word-of-mouth publicity. When people talk casually about their experiences with a product, service, or business. (5) written communication. Transmitting information using written symbols, either printed or handwritten. (9) WYSIWYG. Web authoring software that automatically converts content and design elements into code stands for what you see is what you get. (14)