Loss leader

Sugar was a strategic product in the scheme; in part, because it was the chief source of ‘disturbance’ in the wholesale and retail trades owing to its use as what would now be called a ‘loss leader’, and, in part, because on the supply side the industry was dominated by one refiner behind a substantial tariff wall, thereby facilitating ‘stabilised’ pricing.

Meanwhile, entrepreneurs were quick to capitalize on these shifts to stimulate purchase of their new wares, using new types of advertising, endorsements by prominent people, creation of shop displays, "loss leaders" (selling a popular item at a loss as a way to pull customers into a store), creative financial options, even consumer research and the stoking of new fads.

Krystof Zizka, a co-owner of the restaurant, says he doesn't make a penny on the oysters, though they are one of the reasons his three-year-old restaurant is so successful. The cheap late-afternoon oyster is to a restaurant what a liter bottle of Coca-Cola is to a supermarket: the loss leader that gets customers in the door, at which point they buy something else at full price.

Siri can at least be a loss leader for iPhone sales, but Apple is also hunting around for more continual revenue from ads.