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Glite Dictionary
loss leader

loss leader

3 4.3
An item sold below cost to attract customers who buy other things
  • noun
  • /ˈlɔs ˈlidər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : producto en pérdida
  • I found that giving my first book away free worked wonders for my sales... it's a great loss leader.

Examples

  • Every businessman knows this; that is why the "loss leader" or the giveaway is such a powerful marketing tool.

    Blog text (17)

  • Pork loin was a loss leader last week, and I bought 8 pounds.

    Blog text (12)

  • It's what you call in business a loss leader.

    Who's That Girl (1987)

  • Buy stuff when it's a loss leader and freeze to reduce waste.

    Blog text (12)

  • In Uncle Walter's time, the news division was a loss leader.

    Blog text (17)

  • Paid traffic to a $47 ebook is normally a loss leader.

    Blog text (9)

  • Hardware is a big loss leader for the company unless the online business outpaces it in terms of losses.

    Blog text (15)

  • I'll have a loss leader at $0.99 or free and the rest at $2.99.

    Blog text (32)

  • Industrialists and financiers are attracted to newspaper and television ownership not just as businesses in their own right, but as "loss leaders" for their other commercial activities.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The supermarket featured chicken as a loss leader, selling it for half the usual price to encourage shoppers to buy other groceries.

Synonyms

leader
vsloss leader
  • Jargon
39 7.9

A product sold at a low price to bring customers into a store

focuses on attracting buyers with hope they buy other full-price items

Surface Forms

loss leader singular
loss leaders plural

Morphology

loss + leader

The parts 'loss' (financial loss) and 'leader' (something that leads) give a loose compositional clue—suggesting a product associated with a loss—but they do not specify the commercial strategy of selling at a loss to attract customers. As a somewhat technical retail term whose pragmatic/marketing function is not predictable from the words alone (and is expressed differently in many languages), it would not be fully obvious to a B1 learner, so it is best classified as semi-transparent.

Etymology

The noun loss leader comes from shops that sell one product at a loss and put it out front as a leader to attract shoppers. That's why the phrase means an item sold cheaply to 'bring customers in' so they will buy other items at normal prices.