Before deciding whether to buy a good or service, consumers often have the opportunity to gather information or simply spend time thinking about how much they would enjoy the good. Gathering or processing information is costly, in terms of money, time, and e¤ort. A rm, through its advertising, product design, and marketing strategies, can a¤ect these costs and make it easier or harder for consumers to assess whether a product is a good match for their needs or preferences. In this paper, we explore a monopolist rm s marketing strategy by characterizing the rm s choice of how costly it is for consumers to learn their valuations of.
