Jennifer A. Smith/Getty Images
Siddhanth Mookerjee and his colleagues at the University of British Columbia conducted a series of studies exploring the impact of labeling visually atypical produce “ugly.” They found that despite managers’ and store owners’ reluctance to use that language, it generated more customer purchases than euphemisms such as “imperfect” or simple discounts without a stated reason. The conclusion: To sell an ugly product, just call it that.