I find it difficult to accept "barrier to exit" becuase exit implies leaving a place (or a marketplace), whereas your sentence refers to products not places, so it's about "abandoning" a product not a place.

http://www.iese.edu/research/pdfs/OP-04-1.pdf

If you look in this PDF on page 14, last paragraph, you'll see context that implies meaning and a reference to "switching costs". It clearly refers to the difficulty a consumer might have when they commit to one particular brand.

For example I have a Movistar mobile, but other operators are offering very competitive deals. But becuase a lot of my friends have the same operator, I feel I can't change mobile operator and benefit from cheaper rates, unless I persuade my friends to as well.

So this is a "switching barrier", in other words, I can't easily switch brands becuase there is a switching cost to me.

When I put "switching cost" in Google along with "barrier" I get this Wiki article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switching_barriers

Switching barriers
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Switching barriers or switching costs are terms used in microeconomics, strategic management, and marketing to describe any impediment to a customer's changing of suppliers.

Although the article refers a lot to COSTS, by implication when there's a COST, there's a BARRIER.

For more, see this Google Books page:
Contemporary research in e-marketing volume 2 - Google Books Result 2006
Thus, if one perceives high risks in a change of supplier, this is here classified as a positive switching barrier. 12 Our research has been inspired by ...
http://books.google.es/books?id=cQbV37A4x2sC&pg=PA342&lpg=PA...

ALSO: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jse...

Title: Switching barriers in consumer markets: an investigation of the financial services industry
Abstract:
Much research looks at why customers switch service organizations but there has been less focus on why customers do not switch service organizations, even though they have seriously considered doing so. In light of this, we present an analysis of the literature and develop a list of potential switching barriers. These switching barriers are then empirically tested within two financial services industries. Results from over 400 consumers enable us to ascertain not only the importance of each switching barrier but also to develop a more parsimonious understanding of these barriers, through factor analysis. The results reveal similar patterns in the two industries in respect to switching barriers. The first of the four factors contains reasons related to apathy, the second factor contains negative reasons for customers staying with their current service provider, the third factor relates to relationship variables and the final factor relates to service recovery. Results clearly indicate that the first two factors are far more important than the latter two in terms of why customers stay even when they seriously considered leaving.






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Note added at 3 hrs (2008-04-03 15:49:30 GMT)
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http://www.economicswebinstitute.org/essays/switchingbarrier...

Effects of Switching Barriers on Satisfaction,
Repurchase Intentions and Attitudinal Loyalty

Switching barriers – a literature review
Jones et al. (2000) define a switching barrier as ****any factor which makes it difficult or
costly for consumers to change providers*******. In their empirical study they examined
three types of switching barriers: strong interpersonal relationships (the strength of the
personal bonds that may develop between the employees of a supplier and the
customer), high switching costs (the customers perception of the time, money and
effort associated with changing supplier) and attractiveness of alternatives, which
refers to whether viable alternatives exist in the market.

Klemperer (1987) distinguishes between three types of switching costs. One is
transaction costs incurred when the customer changes supplier. For example, if you
change stock-broker, you have to close one account and open another with the new
supplier, entailing some effort. The second is learning costs. Suppose the new stockbroker
uses other routines or other contractual rules than the first one, then you have
to learn these new rules, which can be seen as a switching cost. The third is artificial
switching costs and concerns what the firm does to retain customers – for example
frequent flyer programs or discount coupons valid for the next purchase. Artificial
switching costs are entirely at the firms discretion. Nilssen (1992) argues that these
costs also can be decisions on whether to make the products compatible with others or
not.