Which digits? How high? Best layout? 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.
Phonetic size feels like numerical size.
Research shows that "small" words (e.g., low, tiny, little) can influence the perceived size of a nearby price.
Something will "feel right" about the price.
Men make decisions quickly, and they assume that red prices indicate savings.
Customers were more likely to buy two t-shirts for $25 because of the matching “t” sounds.
Design currency symbols so they're less painful and easy to distinguish from the digits in a price.
Customers adopt a higher reference price, which makes subsequent prices seem cheaper.
Customers can subtract these numbers more easily, enlarging the perceived discount.
It feels like a better deal.
Use “charm” prices (e.g., $2.99, $49.95) to reduce the left digit as much as possible.
A visual difference feels like a numerical difference.
A visual gap makes the numerical gap seem larger.
If your price is $465, aim for a discounted price across every digit.
Below $100? Give a percentage discount (20% off). Above $100? Give an absolute discount ($20 off).
All else equal, coupons are more effective than visibly reduced prices.
Similar items pull more attention.
Round discounts seem big, while precise discounts seem urgent.
Customers prefer prices that are divisible by the purchase quantity because it helps them imagine using these products.
Customers feel less pain spending money from refunds because they feel like "free money."
Use frequent (yet smaller) price changes. Avoid waiting until the moment of desperation.
Customers are more likely to buy adjacent products if they don't compete with a discounted product.