The customer will likely come across both offers and both prices. Once a product is online, it is online for all to see. There is no ability to test only a small portion of a niche market and to make roll-out decisions based upon the test. The Internet gives consumers more power and makes markets more price efficient. The Internet makes price comparisons easier when dealing with retail products.
Direct mail is niche marketing.
But, so is starting a scuba shop in California. The area of the Internet corresponding most to direct-mail testing is Internet banner ad testing. And, you can examine what proportion of the people arriving from a banner are converted into online sales. As discussed in Thinking Like An Entrepreneur often the most important factor in growing a marketing-oriented business is not the rate at which you can get people to place their first order with your company. At present, Internet banners are relatively untargeted.