Cannibalized Sales
Hej VB
Here is how I think of 42 and 32 purchase decisions:
Some people only want a 32. Could be for reasons of size or weight or price or all three. They just don't want a 42. These are not cannibalizers as they were never going to buy a 42.
Some peoplle only want a 42. Could be for reasons of ease of view, or extra brightness in twilight or dark weather or simply because 42s are the proper 'grown up' size of binoculars. The just don't want a 32. These are not cannibalizers as they were never going to buy a 32.
In between are folks that take longer to make up their minds. They aren't sure what they want, aren't sure just how much they want to spend on bins, don't know what it is like to carry a 42 or a 32 around their necks all day so can't use this knowledge to help them choose.
Some of these choose the 42 and you could call these cannibalisers.
Some of these choose the 32 and you could call these cannibalisers.
But on top of these there are folks who will buy both 42 and 32 because they suit different kinds of days out in the field. If the weather looks grey, take the 42. If you are leaving at sunrise and will get back at sunset take the 42. But if you are hiking or backpacking or sightseeing or using lots of photo grear as well as birding, take the 32 because its smaller and lighter.
32s and 42s compete some of the time but are complementary at other times.
The extent of true cannibalization is something that would be interesting to know, but I bet nobody really knows this.
Lee