When preferences are sensitive to context, firms may try to influence purchase decisions by designing the environment of consumption choices. Confirming anecdotal evidence on retailer marketing tricks, we show that competitive retailers exploit context-sensitivity by designing environments that drive a wedge between preferences before and after entering a store. This wedge induces naive consumers to switch preference from a loss-leader product that attracts consumers into the store to a more profitable product. Depending on the quality preferences and budget of consumers, markets are either in an "up-selling" or "down-selling" equilibrium. In the former, firms attract consumers with low-quality products, compete on prices, and design context to ultimately sell a product of higher price. In the latter, firms attract consumers with high-price products, compete on quality, and design context to ultimately sell a product of lower quality. When modeling context-sensitivity according to the theories of Salience, Focusing, or Relative Thinking, designing context comes down to the introduction of a single decoy product. This decoy draws consumer attention at the store to the favorable attributes of the product the firm aims to sell.

中文翻译：

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情境敏感型消费者竞争

当偏好对环境敏感时，企业可以尝试通过设计消费选择的环境来影响购买决策。证实了有关零售商营销技巧的传闻证据，我们表明竞争性零售商通过设计在进入商店之前和之后在偏好之间产生楔形的环境来利用上下文相关性。这种楔子诱使幼稚的消费者将偏好从吸引消费者进入商店的亏损领先产品转向利润更高的产品。根据消费者的质量偏好和预算，市场处于“向上销售”或“向下销售”平衡。在前者中，公司以低质量的产品吸引消费者，在价格上竞争，并在设计背景下最终出售价格更高的产品。在后者中，公司通过高价产品吸引消费者，在质量和设计环境上进行竞争，最终出售质量较低的产品。当根据显着性，专注力或相对思维的理论对上下文敏感度进行建模时，设计上下文归结为引入单个诱饵产品。这种诱饵在商店吸引了消费者对公司旨在销售产品的有利属性的关注。