11 Complementary-product pricing A complementary product is one that is normally used with another product.
An example is razors and razor blades – if sales of razors increase more razor blades will also be bought.
Other examples of complementary products are:
§ game consoles and associated games
§ printers and printer cartridges.www.Examw.com
Complementary goods:
§ Provide suppliers with additional power over the consumer.
§ Potentially enable suppliers to lock consumers into an ongoing stream of purchases by ensuring that only proprietary consumables (e.g. printer cartridges) can be used in their products.
§ Enable suppliers to increase the consumer’s switching cost – in order to use cheaper cartridges the consumer would have to abandon his original printer and purchase one that allowed him to use non-proprietary cartridges.
Illustration 13 – Complementary-product pricing
A complementary pricing strategy can take two forms:
§ The major product (e.g. a printer or a camera) is priced at a relatively low figure – to encourage the purchase and lock the consumer into subsequent purchases of relatively high price consumables (e.g. printer cartridges or memory cards).
§ The major product (e.g. membership of a fashionable sports or golf club) is priced at a relatively high figure – to create a barrier to entry and exit and the consumer is locked into subsequent purchases of relatively low-price facilities (e.g. court fees or green fees).
Test your understanding 11中华考试网(www．Examw。com)
Which of the following accurately describe complementary pricing?
1 The amount spent by consumers on the major product is, over time, often substantially exceeded by the amount spent on the complementary consumable product.
2 The supplier’s margin on the major product is usually higher than the margin on the complementary product.
3 The supplier’s objective is to lock the consumer into a stream of relatively low-value purchases of consumables.
发表于 2012-2-23 17:09:42
