Place “Small” Words Near the Price

Small words (e.g., “low,” “tiny”) can be grouped with a price, influencing the perceived size.

The word "low" (from low upkeep) being grouped with a $25 price

Overview

People group items that are close together. It's called the gestalt principle of proximity.

This visual grouping can trigger a semantic grouping: Grouping merges the semantic meaning of objects. I call it convergent processing (see Chapter 4 of my book The Tangled Mind).

This effect happens with pricing. In one study, an inline skate seemed cheaper when “Low Friction” appeared near the price because people merged the concept of "low" into the price. The skate seemed more expensive when “High Performance” was near the price (Coulter & Coulter, 2005).

Coulter, K. S., & Coulter, R. A. (2005). Size does matter: The effects of magnitude representation congruency on price perceptions and purchase likelihood. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15(1), 64-76.