In March of last year, the Starview chain of coffee shops switched from using almond milk to oat milk for their lattes, claiming it would attract more health-conscious customers. However, Starview is now considering reverting to almond milk, arguing that the change has negatively impacted latte sales. This claim is misleading, as Starview's sales data shows that they sold 7% more lattes last year compared to the previous year.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens Starview's argument?

Answer Choices

Correct answer marked below

A. Overall sales of all beverages at Starview’s coffee shops increased by less than 7 percent last year.

B. Starview profits more from pastries sold at their shops than from latte sales.

C. Customers at Starview prefer the taste of lattes made with almond milk over those made with oat milk.

Correct

D. Total customer visits to Starview’s coffee shops were more than 15 percent higher last year than the year before.

E. The year before last, Starview saw a 12 percent increase in latte sales compared to the previous year.

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Explanation

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Official Explanation

Official

To weaken Starview's argument that switching to oat milk hurt latte sales, we need to find evidence that suggests the increase in latte sales is not due to the change in milk. Option C states that customers prefer the taste of lattes made with almond milk over those…

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Comments

SRbooksMar 4, 2025

Great question!

MotolaniMar 9, 2025

Greatt

AditiJan 19, 2025

Thank for sharing!!!

ethanDec 25

I enjoy this question! I would love if someone tackled how to approach it (If there is a preference for 'Almond Milk' over 'Oat Milk' by the Starview customer base) we know that (Oat Milk) lattes were responsible for 7% higher sales than the prior year (also Oat Milk we can assume). How do customer preferences reflect a poor management decision if we do not have the corresponding performance/sales reports to analyze? I think this question would do well with a slight tweak taking into account the claims above, if not I will be posting my interpretation of the question/answers

What this question tests

What it tests

Whether you can identify the option that most undermines an argument's conclusion.

Common trap

Choosing an irrelevant objection or one that attacks the premise rather than the reasoning.