A meta‐analysis on the effects of just‐below versus round prices
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Authors
Marketers' proclivity for just-below prices (e.g., $9.99) is rooted in an expected higher demand than for round prices ($10.00). The literature, however, lacks a comprehensive assessment of when and how price endings matter. Three mechanisms might explain price-ending effects on consumers' purchase decisions: just-below prices (1) improve price perceptions, but (2) impair perceived product quality, and (3) cause consumers to underestimate prices. A preregistered meta-analysis (k = 69 studies, m = 362 effect sizes, N = 40,541) established that just-below (vs. round) prices tend to increase purchase decisions (g = 0.13, CI 95%[0.01, 0.25]), result in an advantageous price image (g = 0.28, CI 95%[0.09, 0.48]), have no effect on perceived product quality (g = 0.00, CI 95%[−0.17, 0.18], p = 0.96), and are more often underestimated (g = 0.67, CI 95%[0.04, 1.30]). Participant, study, price, and product characteristics moderate the magnitude of these effects. Overall, the effect sizes are small and highly heterogenous, p-curve analyses revealed a large proportion of nonsignificant effects, and publication bias corrections suggest smaller and, at times, nonsignificant true effects. We discuss theoretical and applied implications for the pricing literature.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Consumer Psychology |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 2 |
Pages (from-to) | 299-325 |
Number of pages | 27 |
ISSN | 1057-7408 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 04.2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Consumer Psychology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Consumer Psychology.
- Management studies - just-below prices, meta-analysis, price endings, pricing, round prices