Product improvements (PI) are common in practice. An important research gap in this domain is the absence of a comprehensive examination of the role of different patterns of PI (i.e., infrequent but big spurts of major improvements versus gradual occurrence of small improvements). This omission is surprising because such an examination will enhance our conceptualization of customer perceptions of PI and will provide valuable guidance for managers in devising appropriate strategies for introducing PI and the associated allocation of organizational resources. To address this gap, the current research proposes an analytical framework that is grounded in prospect theory to examine the impact of different patterns of PI on customer response. More specifically, the paper examines the moderating role of brand-tier on the link between the pattern of PI and customer response. •Examines the role of patterns of incremental product improvements on customer response•Proposes an analytical framework built on prospect theory•Customer response is contingent upon reference quality level.•Customer response differs for brands in different quality tiers.