These harbinger customers tend to buy unpopular products like Crystal Pepsi or Colgate Kitchen Entrees and support losing political candidates.
First, the findings document the existence of “harbinger zip codes.”
If households in these zip codes adopt a new product, this is a signal that the new product will fail.
Second, a series of comparisons reveal that households in harbinger zip codes make other decisions that differ from other households.
The first comparison identifies harbinger zip codes using purchases from one retailer and then evaluates purchases at a different retailer.
Households in harbinger zip codes purchase products from the second retailer that other households are less likely to purchase.
House prices in harbinger zip codes also increase at slower rates than in neighboring zip codes. »
