Turn Comparisons Right Side Up

Suppose you have two items on sale: An item you usually sell for $95.99 is now discounted to $75.99, and you’re discounting a $35.99 item to $15.99. In each case, the savings to the buyer is $20. However, the percentage discount on the $95.99 item is about 21%, while on the $35.99 item, it’s closer to a whopping 56%!
     Whether you present the price comparisons in a horizontal or vertical format affects whether the shopper is more likely to think of the absolute value of the discount—the $20—or of the percentage discount. According to researchers at Clark University, a horizontal arrangement, like the top example in this posting, nudges the consumer to think about the $20 off for both Items A and B. This would make the two items seem equally attractive from the perspective of added value because of the sale price.

     Now rotate the table so it looks like the second example in this posting, and the consumer’s mind will turn toward considering the percentage of the discount, and away from the absolute dollar amount. People are generally poor in calculating percentages, but almost all will be skilled enough to realize that the sale on the $35.99 item is a better deal.
     The orientation of information in the shopping environment makes a difference in the shopper’s mental orientation. For instance, immediately to the right of a deeply discounted item, have products priced for a healthy profit margin that are natural accompaniments to the deeply discounted item.
     Why to the right? Because that’s where the shopper’s eyes tend to go the instant after they recognize that they’ve gotten a really good deal on a purchase. Our eyes move rightward when the left hemisphere of the brain gets active. Not up and down. It’s that left hemisphere which specializes in doing the math and telling the whole brain, “Hey, we saved some real money here!” and gets more likely to ask, “Are we ready to splurge?”
     And our brains perceive horizontal size along a different scale than vertical size. This can be seen most dramatically in young children. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget would pour liquid from a short, squat glass cup into a tall, thin drinking glass. The preschoolers watching would insist that the quantity of liquid was now greater than it had been before.
     To best serve yourself and your shoppers, turn comparisons the right way.

Click below for more: 
Keep Your Eye on Merchandising to the Right
Try Out Dollar Over Percentage Discounts