So it turns out, some consumers really are cursed

[Shalmanese]

It’s frequently brought up by some people that they are “cursed” when it comes to buying decisions and anything they fall in love with is immediately taken off the market. A new study by the Kellogg school of Management has provided empirical support for this belief

there is a very real class of customers who are uncannily attracted to products that will never catch on. Take, for instance, Diet Crystal Pepsi, a notorious product failure. Customers who purchase a product like this are also more likely to purchase, for instance, Frito Lay Lemonade, another product that eventually failed.

The worst of the harbingers? Repeat customers, those with a tendency to purchase a product like Diet Crystal Pepsi not just once, but over and over again. These customers really, really like the products that end up failing. Harbingers with a history of making four or more repeat purchases of a failed product are nearly twice as likely as other customers to buy another product that fails.

[Mr.Accident]

I still want my Crystal Pepsi damn it!

Apparently I’m one of these harbingers. Cooler Ranch Doritos, Crystal Pepsi, Josta, Surge, Brownie Batter Blizzards, etc.

[Balance]

Love the term they use, “harbingers”. They missed out on making it as punny as it is portentous, though, by not phrasing that line in the quote as, “Repeat customers, those with a tendency to purchase large quantities of a product like…”

(I’m probably a harbinger, too.)

[Musicat]

I’m hoarding my sponges, you know, for someone who’s sponge-worthy.

[running_coach]

@Mr.Accident

I still want my Crystal Pepsi damn it!

Apparently I’m one of these harbingers. Cooler Ranch Doritos, Crystal Pepsi, Josta, Surge, Brownie Batter Blizzards, etc.

Could you please develop a liking for Circus Peanuts?

[Inna_Minnit]

@Musicat

I’m hoarding my sponges, you know, for someone who’s sponge-worthy.

Why? They are being made again.

[wonky]

I am this person. I always like the flavors (Doritos Cheeseburger, you bastards!) that disappear (Herr’s Cheddar and Horseradish, you punks!) or are simply harder to find (Cinnamon toothpaste, Lemon-Lime Powerade Zero, non-floral shower gel, etc.)

[thelurkinghorror]

@Mr.Accident

I still want my Crystal Pepsi damn it!

Apparently I’m one of these harbingers. Cooler Ranch Doritos, Crystal Pepsi, Josta, Surge, Brownie Batter Blizzards, etc.

How is Cooler Ranch different from Cool Ranch?

AFAIK Surge is still going strong in its Norwegian home (it’s called Urge there). Like all things in Norway, it’s probably $5/bottle, so importing sounds prohibitive.

I googled: a guy can get it for you. For $9/bottle if you buy in bulk

[Kent_Clark]

I owned an AMC Gremlin.

Talk about cursed!

[ZipperJJ]

@thelurkinghorror

How is Cooler Ranch different from Cool Ranch?

Uh, hello? The ranch is coolER. Duh.

[Morgyn]

Yep. That’s me. Betamax. Carnation Breakfast Bars. Choco-lite. Crispy M&Ms.

[TruCelt]

I think it’s a lot simpler than that. For instance, I don’t really prefer sweet things. I’d much rather have a crisp drink than a syrupy one. So when something comes out that qualifies, I love it and become a devotee. But American tastes being what they are, there just isn’t enough of a market to sustain the product.

Likewise intellectual books, TV shows and movies. Guaranteed I’ll like them, but most of them fail.

The numbers required to define a product or creative work as “successful” in the USA are so unbelievably high, that everything not targeted to the sweet/salty/relaxing/easy/funny market either fails completely or drops into a barely available “niche” status.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that all “harbingers” are merely the victims of exquisite taste. That’s probably just me. :rolleyes:

[sinjin]

@kunilou

I owned an AMC Gremlin.

Talk about cursed!

Hahahahahaha I owned a Gremlin and a Ford Pinto and lived to tell the tale. I bought the Gremlin for 50 bucks from another grad student who told me he’d give me my 50 bucks back if it died within 30 days. I sold it 9 or 12 months later to a high school kid with his dad in tow for the same deal. HS kid and Dad were very pleased as was I with the original deal.

[ThelmaLou]

I am one of those people. I addressed it here:

What stuff did "They" stop making just because you like it?

I have a BlackBerry, drive a Saturn (my second one, and I owned an AMC Pacer for 11 years before that), and I still use a Palm Pilot.

[njtt]

@TruCelt

I’d much rather have a crisp drink than a syrupy one.

So you’re the one who bought the Frito Lay Lemonade!

[Zebra]

But are the customers cursed or do those people curse the product?

[ThelmaLou]

@Zebra

But are the customers cursed or do those people curse the product?

I think the harbinger customers are the canaries in the mine shaft. The fact that they are attracted to the product is an indicator that the product only appeals to a narrow market and will not make it in the mass market.

The article says:

But sure enough, there is a very real class of customers who are uncannily attracted to products that will never catch on. Take, for instance, Diet Crystal Pepsi, a notorious product failure. Customers who purchase a product like this are also more likely to purchase, for instance, Frito Lay lemonade, another product that eventually failed.
…
The worst of the harbingers? Repeat customers, those with a tendency to purchase a product like Diet Crystal Pepsi not just once, but over and over again. These customers really, really like the products that end up failing. Harbingers with a history of making four or more repeat purchases of a failed product are nearly twice as likely as other customers to buy another product that fails.

[Ludovic]

But the product comes with a free Frogurt.

[asterion]

Let’s see. I liked Diet Crystal Pepsi as a kid. I liked the Chocolate Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper. I liked the crispy M&Ms. I drank a lot of Surge in high school because they were trying to push it with a vending machine that sold cans for a quarter. I think I must be one of them.

There used to be a Super Wal-Mart I went to (when I both lived in that area and shopped at Wal-Mart) that had frozen 93/7 (or 96/4 or something similar) burger patties. I’ve never been able to find frozen burgers that lean since, no matter where I look.

[Drunky_Smurf]

I still miss Jello pudding pops.