One common situation is for two sup

One common situation is for two supermarkets to be competing for the same customers.As we've discussed, it's hard for one to be systematically more expensive than the other without losing a lot of business,so they will charge similar prices on average, but both will also miss up their price. That way,both can distinguish the bargain hunters from those in need of specific products,like people shopping to pick up ingredients for a cook- book recipe they are making for a dinner party. Bargain-hunters will pick up whatever is on sale and make something of it .The dinner- party shoppers come to the supermarket to buy specific products and will be less sensitive to prices.The price-targeting strategy only works because the supermarkets always vary the patterns of their special offers,and because it's too much trouble to go to both stores.If shoppers could reliably predict what was to be discounted, they could choose recipe ahead of time, and even choose the appropriate supermarkets to pick up the ingredients whatever they are least expensive.