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Pricing
Tactic

Deemphasize the Price of Emotional Products

Emotional products have strong benefits, but weak economic value. Orient customers toward the benefits instead of the price.

A wine bottle with a price tag. A bad application shows an enlarged $20, whereas a good application shows the word "Wine" enlarged with a visually small $20

Overview

Some ideas:

1. Reduce the Saliency of Prices

Do you sell jewelry? On your website, don’t emphasize the prices.

An ecommerce page selling a $8,000 gold watch with the price visually small, as if it doesn't matter

2. Focus on Time and Usage

Avoid references to money. Instead, emphasize the duration of time that customers will spend.

Researchers alternated three signs for a lemonade stand:

  • Time: “Spend a little time and enjoy C & D’s lemonade”
  • Money: “Spend a little money and enjoy C & D’s lemonade”
  • Neutral: “Enjoy C & D’s lemonade”

The “time” sign attracted twice as many people (who paid twice as much; Mogilner & Aaker, 2009).

  • Mogilner, C., & Aaker, J. (2009). “The time vs. money effect”: Shifting product attitudes and decisions through personal connection. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(2), 277-291.