---
id: "prereq-downward-sloping-demand"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["§ Serve customers who value products at less than their selling prices"]
tags: ["economics"]
related: ["concept-subjective-value"]
reason: "Essential for understanding why a single price leaves money on the table and why segmenting customers via discounts captures maximum revenue."
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"
---
# Downward-Sloping Demand Curve

**Prerequisite knowledge:** the Economics 101 **downward-sloping demand curve** — as price decreases, quantity demanded increases, because different consumers hold different maximum willingness-to-pay thresholds.

**Why it's required:** without it, the reader can't see why a single list price *leaves money on the table* (high-WTP buyers are under-charged, low-WTP buyers are lost) and why hurdle-gated discounting captures more of the curve. Directly underpins [[concept-subjective-value]].


## Related across articles
- [[concept-ai-driven-tam-expansion]]
- [[framework-renewal-strategy-matrix]]