Choose a Round or Precise Discount
Which discount is better: 25% off or 24.7% off. I used to think 25% would perform better, but a new study sheds light.
![25% seems big, 24.7% seems urgent](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fsm4pjcjvw1eb%2F2WHo1lHBuWPHFHO0BD0nFy%2F49906473a5051af78c8c507306526da5%2FShow_a_Round_or_Precise_Discount-min.jpg&w=3840&q=70)
Overview
Which discount is better:
- 25% off
- 24.7% off
It depends.
Round numbers typically feel larger (Thomas, Simon, & Kadiyali, 2010).
For example, a drink seemed more energizing with 100mg (vs. 102mg) of caffeine (Pena-Marin & Bhargave, 2016).
So 25% off should perform better, right? Well, not always.
There's another lurking variable: Stability.
You imagine 24.7 on narrow scale in which any movement — even a slight nudge — will change this number.
![25 on wide scale, 24.7 on on narrow scale with more scale markers](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fsm4pjcjvw1eb%2F3Cdf24ZyXg61Vx9d8tKLAZ%2F56c6a1a2dc410836ac6dfe0a0030f22e%2FRound_is_Stable__Precise_is_Unstable-min.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
Subconsciously, it feels like 24.7% can easily change. Perhaps even disappear. Therefore, customers feel motivated to grab this discount while it's still available.
Indeed, customers were motivated by a 6.8% (vs. 7%) discount because they believed it would end sooner (Jha, Biswas, Guha, & Gauri, 2023).
Takeaways:
- Choose an Extreme. A narrow 7.7% or round 10% seem better than 8%.
- Choose Discounts for Segments. Are customers motivated by price? Give 25% off. Urgency? Give 24.7% off.
- Narrow is Better for Long-Term Discounts. If there's no deadline, a narrow discount can imply urgency.
Other New Stuff
- Video Game Psychology - Playing video games after work rejuvenates you because of the psychological detachment.
- Customers Feel Less Guilty Wasting Organic Food - It feels less harmful on the environment.
- Apologies and Incompetence - After bad service, businesses seem more sincere when they attribute their mistake to incompetence (e.g., lack of skills). It makes the apology seem costlier, thus more sincere.