Pricing tricks that make you spend more
Whether you're shopping for groceries, clothes or gifts, you're going to see price tags all over the place. But have you ever realised how these price tags can affect your spending habits?
While you probably don't stop and consider the pennies on a price tag, the retailer definitely will have.
For example, you'll often see price tags and signs ending in 99p. This is is supposed to suggest that you're getting the best possible price, or that the item is on sale.
Another obvious reason for seeing a lot of prices ending in nine is that we read from left to right, which means more often than not you'll remember the digits on the left hand side and ignore the two after.
But, what about the prices that don't end in 99? They can also affect our perception of prices in different ways.
For example, if a price ends in four or seven it's likely to stand out because it doesn't end in nine and it subliminally suggests that the seller has seriously considered the price.
What about when you don't see change on an item at all? In places like expensive restaurants and jewellery stores prices are often rounded up to the nearest pound or hundred pounds. This then emphasises the high prices in the shop and prompts the buyer to think that if they're worried about change then maybe they're in the wrong place.
The thing to remember is that the psychology of shopping affects nearly everything you buy from toys to houses and food to Ferraris!
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