---
id: "question-optimal-hurdle-friction"
type: "open-question"
source_timestamps: ["§ Serve customers who value products at less than their selling prices"]
tags: ["optimization", "customer-experience"]
related: ["concept-discounting-hurdles"]
resolutionPath: "A/B testing different hurdle mechanisms (e.g., email sign-up vs. physical coupon) to measure the ratio of incremental sales gained versus full-price sales cannibalized."
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-ext-22-art-of-discounting"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/the-art-of-discounting"
sourceTitle: "The Art of Discounting"
---
# What is the optimal amount of friction for a discount hurdle?

**Open question.** The article advocates [[concept-discounting-hurdles|hurdles]] but leaves a tension unaddressed: if a hurdle is **too high or annoying**, it may alienate the very price-sensitive customer it targets; if it is **too low**, full-price buyers clear it too, causing [[concept-profit-cannibalization|cannibalization]]. No framework is given for calibrating this friction.

**Resolution path:** A/B test different hurdle mechanisms (email sign-up vs. physical coupon vs. price-match request) and measure the ratio of *incremental sales gained* to *full-price sales cannibalized*, optimizing for net incremental profit. This is the practical decision the enrichment's "cannibalization risk may exceed the incremental gain" counter-perspective warns about.