The article doesn&#x27;t tell you much, but the actual paper [1] is fascinating.  This isn&#x27;t about tech.  The data is for 27 million sales of packaged goods in convenience stores. &quot;For example, customers who purchased Diet Crystal Pepsi are more likely to have purchased Frito Lay Lemonade (both of which failed). A consumer who repeatedly purchases Diet Crystal Pepsi is even more likely to have unusual preferences, and is more likely than other customers to choose other new products that will fail in the future. ... These customers who systematically buy products that fail are also customers who are more likely to buy niche products that few other customers purchase.&quot;<p>The authors of the paper don&#x27;t attempt to attach an explanation to the results; they just look at its statistical significance for use in making marketing decisions.  The effect is only seen in some product categories.  If you read more into it than that, you&#x27;re going beyond what the data says.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;marketing.wharton.upenn.edu&#x2F;mktg&#x2F;assets&#x2F;File&#x2F;Anderson-Eric%202015_02_05_Harbingers.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;marketing.wharton.upenn.edu&#x2F;mktg&#x2F;assets&#x2F;File&#x2F;Anderso...</a>