From The Penguin Blog:
Two of his arguments seem particularly relevant to me as I think about selling Classics:
1. Context is key.
(a) Give people too much choice and conversion from browsing to buying reduces…(b) People find it difficult to judge the value of something in isolation…. the story of the first bread-maker on the market. It didn’t sell until they introduced a second, bigger and more expensive model and positioned it in store next to it — then the cheaper model flew off the shelves as customers had a context and could put a value to that product.
2. Imprinting habits. Once we start to buy something (say, coffee from Starbucks, or Classics by Penguin), it becomes much easier to do it again and again. It becomes a habit.
Coffeehouse Junkie 