Q.In an attempt to cope with Reliance Jio's onslaught in 2018, market leader Bharti Airtel refreshed its ₹149 prepaid plan to offer 2 GB of 3G/4G data per day, twice the amount it offered earlier. Name the type of plan highlighted in the given example. State its three dimensions also.

Product Line Pricing: A First Look

Think about the last time you walked into a mobile phone store. You saw phones at ₹8,000, ₹15,000, ₹30,000, and ₹80,000. They are all phones — same basic function — but the prices are wildly different. Why doesn't the company just sell one phone at one price? That is the question product line pricing answers.

The Everyday Intuition

You already understand this intuitively. When you go to a restaurant, the menu has a ₹50 dosa, a ₹120 dosa, and a ₹250 dosa. The ₹50 dosa is plain; the ₹120 one comes with fillings; the ₹250 one is a "special" with extra sides. The restaurant isn't confused about what a dosa costs. They are deliberately offering you a range of prices for the same basic product category.

This is product line pricing in action. A product line is a group of related products sold by the same company — think of Maruti's cars (Alto, Swift, Ciaz), or Samsung's televisions (32-inch, 43-inch, 55-inch). Product line pricing is the strategy of setting different prices for different products within the same line, not based on cost alone, but based on the value each version offers to different customer segments.

The Precise Meaning

In your NCERT textbook (Class 12 Business Studies, Chapter 11 — Marketing), product line pricing is explained as a pricing strategy where a company sets different prices for different products in the same product line. The logic is simple: not all customers want the same thing, and not all customers can pay the same price.

A company manufacturing shoes might sell:

• Basic canvas shoes at ₹500
• Sports shoes at ₹1,500
• Premium leather shoes at ₹4,000

All are shoes. All come from the same company. But each targets a different buyer — the budget-conscious student, the athlete, the professional. The price difference is not just about cost of materials; it is about perceived value and market segmentation.

Why It Matters

Three reasons make this strategy essential for businesses:

First, it captures more customers. A single price would only attract one type of buyer. By offering a range, the company pulls in customers from different income levels and needs. The student buys the basic phone; the professional buys the premium one. Same brand, more sales.

Second, it signals quality. A very low price can make customers doubt quality. A very high price can scare them away. A range lets customers self-select: "I'll take the middle one — it's not too cheap, not too expensive." This is called the compromise effect, and companies deliberately design their price points to exploit it.

Third, it manages competition. If a competitor launches a low-priced product, the company can respond by promoting its own low-end variant without damaging the premium brand image. The premium product stays premium; the budget product fights the competition.

How Companies Decide the Prices

There is no formula here — only logic. Companies typically follow these steps:

• Identify customer segments: Who will buy the basic version? Who will buy the deluxe?
• Set a price anchor: The highest-priced product in the line often sets the "premium" perception. Everything else looks reasonable in comparison.
• Create clear differentiation: Each product must offer visibly different features. If the ₹15,000 phone is almost identical to the ₹12,000 phone, customers will feel cheated. …