substitute products

substitute products

any GOODS or SERVICES that are considered to be economically interchangeable by buyers. For example, if an increase in the price of coffee causes buyers to switch away from it and buy a greater quantity of tea, these two goods can be regarded as substitutes for one another.

The CROSS-ELASTICITY OF DEMAND between two products serves as a measure of the degree of substitutability between them; products that are close substitutes have a high cross-elasticity, while products that are poor substitutes have a low cross-elasticity See COMPLEMENTARY PRODUCTS.