来源：《哈佛商业评论》2022年7、8月双月刊
Under a popular marketing strategy, managers use prices just below a round number—like $9.99, $79.95, and $399,990—because consumers tend to perceive items to be less expensive than if they were a few cents or dollars higher. New research finds an important exception: If you’re seeking to upsell customers, setting the price of the basic option at or just above a round number gets better results.
在一种流行的营销策略中，经理们使用的价格都低于某个约整数，比如9.99美元、79.95美元和399,990美元，因为消费者倾向于认为商品比高出几美分或几美元的约整数价格便宜。新的研究发现了一个重要的例外：如果你想向客户加售，把基础价格设定在约整数或略高于约整数的水平会得到更好的结果。
The researchers set up a coffee stand on a college campus and varied the prices of a small and a large coffee over the course of two days. Some passersby saw a base price of $0.95 and $1.20 for the upgrade, while others saw prices of $1.00 and $1.25. Just 29% of purchasers who saw the first set of prices bought the large coffee, versus 56% of those who saw the second set.
研究人员在一所大学的校园里设立了一个咖啡摊，在两天的时间里使用两组不同的小杯咖啡和大杯咖啡的价格。一些路人看到的小大杯价格分别为0.95美元和1.20美元，而其他人看到的价格为1.00美元和1.25美元。看到第一组价格的顾客中只有29%购买了大杯咖啡，而看到第二组价格的顾客中有56%购买了大杯咖啡。
Six lab experiments with products including blenders, cars, and streaming services found similar results. “Pricing a base product just below...a round number separates the base product and upgrade options into different mental categories,” the researchers write, “making the upgrade feel more expensive.” Even when the upgrade was more expensive—for example, when the choice was between a basic and a deluxe blender priced respectively at $39.99 and $47.50 and at $40.00 and $48.50—participants presented with the latter set of prices were more likely than the others to spring for the deluxe model. The effect was lessened when products were presented sequentially rather than simultaneously and when the upgrade crossed another threshold (as when, say, the basic option was $20.50 and the fancy version was $30.50). So managers should avoid pushing the price of a superior product version above the next-highest round number, the researchers say. “Pricing an upgrade option just above another...threshold also creates a psychological barrier that will discourage consumers to upgrade,” they write.
包括搅拌机、汽车和流媒体服务在内的六项实验室实验也发现了类似的结果。“将基础产品定价略低于某个约整数将基础产品和升级选项划分为不同的心理类别，”研究人员写道，“使升级感觉更昂贵。”即使升级价格更贵——例如，在价格分别为39.99美元和47.50美元以及40.00美元和48.50美元的基础搅拌机和豪华搅拌机之间进行选择时，看到后一组价格的参与者更有可能选择豪华机型。当产品按顺序呈现而不是同时呈现时，或者当升级价格越过另一个门槛时(例如，基础选项为20.50美元，高级版本为30.50美元)，这种影响就会减弱。因此，研究人员说，经理们应该避免把优质产品的价格推到下一个约整数之上。“将升级选项定价高于下一个约整数还会造成一种心理障碍，阻碍消费者升级。”