Which digits? How high? Should it be rounded? A checklist of pricing tactics.
You compare prices to past prices, competing prices, and adjacent numbers.
Customers equate visual size with numerical size.
Prices seem most expensive in the bottom-right.
$1500 seems cheaper than $1,500.
Small words (e.g., “low,” “tiny”) can be grouped with a price, influencing the perceived size.
Customers were more likely to buy two t-shirts for $25 because of the matching “t” sounds.
Something will "feel right" about the price.
Men make decisions quickly, and they assume that red prices indicate savings.
Emotional products have strong benefits, but weak economic value. Orient customers toward the benefits instead of the price.
Removing this symbol reduces the pain of paying.
Customers compare these large numbers to the price, which makes it feel smaller.
Customers can subtract these numbers more easily, which makes the difference seem larger.
Customers adopt a higher reference price, which makes subsequent prices seem cheaper.
If customers evaluate this option first, the subsequent options seem cheaper.
Your existing product will become more appealing.
Customers compare this daily value to a reference price, so it feels like a better deal.
Customers focus on the average, rather than the sum.
You can transform the payment into a separate medium (e.g., monthly credits, gift cards).
Paying beforehand helps numb the pain of paying because customers can look forward to the benefits.
Customers prefer prices that are determined by material costs, rather than supply and demand.
Early budgeting pushes you further away from this initial money, reducing the pain of paying from these funds.
Customers feel less pain spending money from refunds because they feel like "free money."
Use “charm” prices (e.g., $2.99, $49.95) to reduce the left digit as much as possible.
Subconsciously, phonetic size feels like numerical size.
These “partitioned prices” are more persuasive.
Highly precise numbers feel smaller.
Right-facing digits push your attention toward adjacent digits. If these digits are low, you round down.
Customers prefer prices that contain the same letters in their name or birthday.
$50 is easier to process than $49.63, which can work better for emotional or convenient purchases.
Small differences can help customers understand (and thus choose from) an assortment of products.
Use frequent (yet smaller) price changes. Avoid waiting until the moment of desperation.
You can change prices without changing the numerals.
It feels easier to spend money when prices surpass a round number ($51.95).
A visual difference feels like a numerical difference.
A visual gap makes the numerical gap seem larger.
Vertical numbers are easier to subtract because of the digit-by-digit comparison.
If your price is $465, aim for a discounted price across every digit.
The difference between $22 and $23 seems more significant than $28 and $29
Below $100? Give a percentage discount (20% off). Above $100? Give an absolute discount ($20 off).
"Was 25% higher" is more persuasive than an equivalent discount of "20% off."
Customers should believe that your discount is temporary so that this lower price doesn't become a new permanent reference price.
Round numbers seem larger.
Two discounts feel better than one.
By the end of the months, customers have depleted their monthly budgets. They're seeking ways to save money.
Reaching one threshold makes it easier to enter another threshold.
Gradually retracting a discount boosts sales.
Emphasize the the quality of your product instead.
All else equal, coupons are more effective than visibly reduced prices.
