Dive Into a New Product Category

2. Signpost items. “Customers use what they know about some items to make inferences about items about which they don’t know,” said Simester.

He offered the example of sporting goods retailers who often keep prices low on items like tennis balls. Customers have an idea of what a can of tennis balls should cost, because the product hasn’t changed measurably in recent years. If the cost of tennis balls is reasonable, customers assume the retailer’s tennis rackets or other products also are available for a good price, he said.