Tactic 24 of 99
The Charm Price
$9.99/€9.99 is not $10/€10. Your brain swears it is closer to $9/€9.
What it is
Prices ending in 9 or 99 feel cheaper than they are. Researchers Manoj Thomas and Vicki Morwitz showed it’s about the left digit. We read from left to right, so $4.99/€4.99 gets filed as “four-something,” not “basically five.”
Spot it
Every price in the store ends in .99 or .95. Big purchases priced just under a round number ($999/€999, $19,990/€19,990).
Counter it
Round up in your head, always. $9.99/€9.99 is ten. $199/€199 is two hundred. $19,990/€19,990 is twenty thousand. Say the round number out loud if it helps.