Direct competition between branded products and services
The focus of this paper is on established repeat‐purchase markets where there is direct competition between branded products and services. These markets include most packaged goods, personal services such as banking and travel agents, food and beverages, hotels, transport, retail, OTC pharmaceuticals, basic cosmetics, and media. They are hugely important in terms of the share of disposable consumer income for which they account, and they have been the focus of much research.