That’s not bad.
I happen to have an MBA from a major university and it was decades ago so when the professor expounded the following, he thought he was edgy.
“The primary determinant of price of a product is whatever the competitor is charging”
Which is pretty darn close to what you are noting. I am sure he was thought to be a rebel in the business school faculty meetings, but it’s pretty ho hum.
If you price higher, you don’t make the sale. If you price lower, you get sued for some sort of anti competitive trade violation.
A while back, McDonalds stopped selling chocolate cones around here. They only sell vanilla. Now, I know I'm not the only person whose favorite flavor is chocolate, so it was a bit perplexing to me. But then I remembered how McDonalds uses data.
They keep data on everything. They know how many people buy chocolate cones, they know how many people would pass on a vanilla cone if chocolate was not offered, and they know how many chocolate lovers would purchase vanilla instead (or a fudge sundae!). They compare these numbers to the cost to supply and maintain a separate soft serve machine for chocolate cones, and how much profit they can make with whatever replaces chocolate cones on the menu and on the counter.
Nothing is left to chance.