Product sabotage
Encyclopedia
In marketing
and retail
, product sabotage is a practice used to encourage the customer to purchase a more profitable product or service as opposed to cheaper alternatives. It is also the practice where a company attempts to aim different prices at different types of customer. There are several methods used in achieving this:
For example, the Tesco
supermarket chain sells a "value" range of products in garish (red, blue and white) packaging to make them appear unappealing and inferior to their regular brand.
and Coffee Republic
, who both have a product called 'short cappuccino', are known to use this practice. The staff know what it is, the tills have a button for it, but the product is not listed anywhere on the menu boards. The customers who are not aware of it are likely to purchase one of the more profitable items listed on the menu.
did this with a printer
in the 1990s, where an economy version for a home user was the top-of-the-range model with a microchip in it to slow it down.
All versions of Microsoft Vista shipped, and Microsoft Windows 7 will ship on an identical DVD and installs the same software regardless of the version purchased by the consumer. However, certain features are hidden or unusable by the user depending on the installation code entered. Upon attempting to use such features, the software will offer an 'upgrade' and take an immediate payment from the customer before the features are instantly unlocked without any further installation being required.
The 486DX CPU came with a floating point calculation unit, the 486SX was exactly the same chip with the electrical connections to the floating point unit cut. (Officially this was done to chips where the floating point unit was not working properly but the CPU was fine. If this was the case it can't be said to be product sabotage.)
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, product sabotage is a practice used to encourage the customer to purchase a more profitable product or service as opposed to cheaper alternatives. It is also the practice where a company attempts to aim different prices at different types of customer. There are several methods used in achieving this:
Cheap packaging
This method is commonly used in supermarkets, where their cheapest products are packaged in a cheap and basic packaging. These products are normally displayed alongside the more attractively packed and expensive items, in an attempt to persuade richer customers to buy the more expensive alternative instead.For example, the Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarket chain sells a "value" range of products in garish (red, blue and white) packaging to make them appear unappealing and inferior to their regular brand.
Omitting products from advertisements
Not advertising the cheaper alternatives. An example of this method is Coffee companies, who hide or downplay the cheaper drinks in the hope that customers will buy something pricier. StarbucksStarbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
and Coffee Republic
Coffee Republic
Coffee Republic is a British coffee bar and deli franchise chain founded in 1995.- History :* 1995Coffee Republic is founded by brother and sister team Bobby and Sahar Hashemi, opening its first site in London's South Molton Street.* 1996...
, who both have a product called 'short cappuccino', are known to use this practice. The staff know what it is, the tills have a button for it, but the product is not listed anywhere on the menu boards. The customers who are not aware of it are likely to purchase one of the more profitable items listed on the menu.
Duplicate manufacture
Manufacturing two versions of the same product at different prices. In the hi-tech world it is common for companies to produce a high-specification product, sold at a premium price, and then sell the same product more cheaply with some of the functions disabled. IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
did this with a printer
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
in the 1990s, where an economy version for a home user was the top-of-the-range model with a microchip in it to slow it down.
All versions of Microsoft Vista shipped, and Microsoft Windows 7 will ship on an identical DVD and installs the same software regardless of the version purchased by the consumer. However, certain features are hidden or unusable by the user depending on the installation code entered. Upon attempting to use such features, the software will offer an 'upgrade' and take an immediate payment from the customer before the features are instantly unlocked without any further installation being required.
The 486DX CPU came with a floating point calculation unit, the 486SX was exactly the same chip with the electrical connections to the floating point unit cut. (Officially this was done to chips where the floating point unit was not working properly but the CPU was fine. If this was the case it can't be said to be product sabotage.)