Here's a couple of interesting posts about pricing:
A typical bookshop will experience a certain amount of shoplifting, especially of products as tempting as my book. Nobody is better placed to benefit from shoplifting than the shop assistants.
If books — or any products — were roundly priced at £10, £15 or £20, then customers would frequently offer the correct change. In such cases it would be simple for the shop assistant to bag the item without ringing it through the till, and to pocket the cash.
And another: Brevity is Best
Consumer researchers know that people are terrible at remembering store prices: two seconds after taking a product from a shelf, the average person has roughly a 50 percent chance of remembering how much it cost. But few researchers have examined why some prices are more memorable than others.
According to a new study, it is a matter of syllables. Each extra syllable in the price reduces the chances of it being recalled by 20 percent, according to the study, which will be published in the September issue of The Journal of Consumer Research [JCR]. In other words, someone faced with a $77.51 camera (eight syllables) and a $62.30 bookshelf (five syllables) is about 60 percent more likely to forget the camera’s price than the bookshelf’s, after half a minute.
Hmmm... That's an interesting take on the $~.99 pricing. I've always thought it was because it makes the customer feel like they're saving money as opposed to the rounded figure. (i.e. $19.99 looks and sounds better than $20.00)
Besides, with taxes, the total almost always doesn't end up with a rounded figure.
Posted by: Rio | August 23, 2006 at 11:10 AM