Price Divisibility

Which digits? How high? Should it be rounded? A checklist of pricing tactics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKlATx6NQbI

Pricing

Customers prefer prices that are divisible by the purchase quantity because it helps them imagine using these products.

Set Bulk Prices With a Divisible Quantity-min

Set Prices That Are Divisible By Purchase Quantities

Sometimes I see specific prices for durations, such as $63.46/hour or $13.45/month. But are they effective? This week's study might shed light. See my LinkedIn post which expands on this idea.

Use Duration Prices That Are Easy to Multiply

Time Windows

How to choose the right words and syntax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQWblxg6XVo

Copywriting

"Jan 1 - Jan 6" feels shorter than "Mon - Sat" because the time window is shorter in a monthly scale.

Monday to Saturday is large portion of a weekly scale, but Jan 1 to Jan 6 is small portion of a monthly scale

Time Intervals Seem Shorter in Calendar Dates

Time Intervals Feel Shorter in Calendar Dates

New research shows that time windows seem shorter in a calendar framing (Jan 1 to Jan 6) compared to a days-of-the-week framing (Mon to Sat).

You repurchase the same brand if this new purchase resembles the previous purchase (e.g., same retailer, same weekday, same basket size; Koll & Plank, 2022).

Same Cues, Same Purchases

Even 15 years later. But the effect was less relevant for tech jobs (Malik, Singh, & Srinivasan, 2023).

Attractive MBA Grads Secure Better Jobs

They rely on God, not people. This effect happened in various contexts (e.g., applying for government aid, asking for favors, requesting donations from crowdfunding; Liu, 2023).

Religious People Are Less Likely to Seek Help

Rationalizing Behavior

A checklist of tactics that will boost sales.

Ecommerce

Otherwise customers might infer that products are unappealing. 

End of a product catalog with "Can't Decide?" and relevant links (e.g., Take Our Quiz, Talk to an Expert)

Justify Why Customers Reached the End of a Catalog

If customers reach the end of a catalog, they contemplate the reason. One hypothesis? They didn't like the products. Therefore, shift this rationale.

Whether it's a gas-guzzling car or raunchy movie. Renting feels less guilty than buying because we're not owning the questionable product, which would tarnish our self-identity (Kang, & Park, 2023).

We Prefer Renting Unethical Products

Men are worried that other people would perceive them negatively, whereas women share negative gossip to gain comfort (Carbone, Loewenstein Scopelliti, & Vosgerau, 2024).

Men Are Less Likely to Share Negative Gossip

Customers choose the same option or flavor if they pay with cash. Why? Because cash payments are painful. Customers feel more pressure to justify their purchase, so they choose options that are easier to rationalize (e.g., their favorite; Huang, Siddiqui, & Ghosh, 2023)

Cash Payments Reduce Variety

Present Tense

These actions feel like they're still happening.

Home inspection summary: porch is stable, faucet looks good, I don't see termites

List Completed Actions in the Present Tense

List Completed Services in the Present Tense

A recent study confirmed that language is more persuasive when framed in the present tense.

Researchers tested payment vibrations (e.g., none, low, high) in a mobile app. Ironically, low vibrations were most painful. Customers felt like they were losing more money (Manshad & Brannon, 2021).

Low Vibrations Increase the Pain of Paying

Researchers replicated the QWERTY effect: Right-handed people prefer words that contain letters from the right side of a keyboard (e.g., jump, milky, nylon). Something about them feels right. Pun intended.

The QWERTY Effect

Customers behave properly in front of humans. But in front of AI? They lie, cheat, and steal. People are more likely to cheat on their taxes if they use software (vs. human advisor; LaMothe & Bobek, 2020).

AI Leads to Unethical Behaviors

Writing this email

Cell phone showing email inbox with Nick Kolenda's newsletter, along with an example newsletter that seems super interesting

Every week, I'll send you a new and interesting marketing study.

Previous Newsletters

Price Divisibility

Time Windows

Rationalizing Behavior

Writing this email

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