Dubai: It is all about the numbers. If a product is priced at Dh9.99 people would be more likely to buy it than they would at Dh10. It is certainly not because people want to save the one fils — in most cases the retailer would not even give it.
US-based pricing strategy expert and author of Pricing Psychology Report Marlene Jensen said that the reason for the pricing is a learned-pattern response in the brain that makes customers see Dh9.99 as much lower than Dh10.
This means that because customers are constantly on the lookout for better deals, finding a product that is lower in price would instantly make it more attractive.
Jensen added that the former price would probably get 10 to 20 per cent more buyers than the latter.
According to AllBusiness, an online resource website that helps companies manage their business, prices in the, for example, Dh9 range is seen as a greater bargain than something in the Dh10 range. It is a common marketing gimmick.
A study published in the US-based Journal of Consumer Research in 2005 analysed how consumers perceive the difference between prices ending in .00 and .99.
The study focused on the left digit, rather than the decimals, and found that the difference can be important to consumers. It revealed that the small decrease in price has the potential to have major effects, as the left digit is reduced making it seem a lot cheaper than it really is.
Dubai-based Dr Ron Villejo, a psychologist and managing director of a consulting firm, agreed with the research and said that when people have it in their mind that it would not cost them as much to buy a product, then it will appeal to them.
