New Product Distribution: An Analysis of Supermarket Buyer Decisions*

This paper explores the relationship between eighteen variables descriptive of a new product offering and a supermarket buyer’s decision to accept or reject the product. The data base consists of one hundred twenty-four new products proposed to three supermarket buyers in the Boston area. The data are analyzed by multiple discriminant analysis and a hierarchical threshold model termed a “gatekeeper” analysis. The “gatekeeper” analysis correctly classifies nearly 93% of all the buyers’ decisions. A new method of discriminant validation in small samples is also proposed.