They are doing a mix of practices attempting to persuade you that their products or services are a “premium” offering to which you should pay more.
Airlines did this by making economy options worse, encouraging more to purchase upscale ticket options. They crippled their cheaper products.
Hotels in the U.S. are often charging an additional fee to give you an option merely to cancel a reservation six months in the future. This is not consumer friendly “premiumization”.
Others have raised prices with gimmicks – like WD40’s new dual spray container.
Auto makers are ditching low end cars and only making high end cars, often with features that many of us are unlikely to use.
For some businesses, this approach has backfired – instead of enhancing profits, it’s driven away customers.
Treating customers as a “sucker born every minute” may not be the wisest strategy.
Source: Why Companies Are Pushing Premium Products With Higher Prices – The New York Times
