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Anchoring effect
Psychologieab 13 J.✍️ Community
A psychological effect: the first price you see becomes the “anchor”. “Was €199, now €79” – €79 feels cheap, even though the product was never worth €199.
The anchoring heuristic is a cognitive bias: our brain uses the first available value as a reference point ("anchor") and judges everything else relative to it.
How retailers use it:
• Crossed-out prices: "only €79 instead of €199" – the original price may never have been real
• Show the premium product first: a €500 suitcase makes the €200 suitcase look cheap
• Property prices: estate agents first show an expensive property so that the next one (the one they want to sell) seems fair
Remedy: ignore the "before" price. Ask yourself: "Is this product worth the price to me – regardless of discounts?"
Did you know? In one study, researchers asked participants to write down the last two digits of their social security number and then estimate the price of a bottle of wine. People with high digits estimated the wine up to 60% more expensive – although the number was completely irrelevant.
✍️ Contributors
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