C2idiombusiness
a loss leader
USUK
a product sold at a very low price, even at a loss, to attract customers who buy other things
A marketing term, but also used in everyday talk. The price is often below cost. It is not the same as a normal discount that still makes a profit.
In context
The supermarket sells milk as a loss leader, hoping shoppers will fill their trolleys with other goods.
Cheap printers are a loss leader, and the real profit comes from the ink.
More idioms about business
- a ballpark figurea rough number that is close to the real amount
- a big playera powerful and important person or company in a field
- a bottlenecka point where progress slows because too much has to pass through it
- a deal breakera fact or condition that makes you refuse to accept an agreement
- a dog-eat-dog worlda situation where people compete hard and will harm others to succeed