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Patterns of price endings used in US and Japanese price advertising

Robert M. Schindler (School of Business, Rutgers University – Camden, Camden, New Jersey, USA)

International Marketing Review

ISSN: 0265-1335

Article publication date: 20 February 2009

1790

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to guide managers' choices of rightmost digits in retail prices by acquiring a better understanding of the psychological mechanisms by which price endings can influence sales.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper observes and compares the price endings used in large matched samples of advertised prices in two countries with considerable cultural differences, the USA and Japan.

Findings

Although the digit 9 predominates among the rightmost digits of advertised prices in the USA the digit 8 predominates in Japan. In contrast to this difference, the US and Japanese prices are similar in that both show greater use of 9 or 8 endings when this choice lowers the price's leftmost digit and when the advertised price is claimed to be a discount price.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should include a wider range of price advertising media and should examine usage patterns of less frequently occurring digits.

Practical implications

Setting a price that falls just below a round number can be helpful in creating a low‐price image. Setting this just‐below price with a 9‐ending would be appropriate in the USA and European countries, but in Japan and other Asian countries, it would be more appropriate to set this just‐below price with an 8‐ending.

Originality/value

These results provide guidance to the retail price setter and illustrate to the basic researcher how universal psychological processes and specific cultural meanings can interact to determine consumer perceptions of marketing stimuli.

Keywords

Citation

Schindler, R.M. (2009), "Patterns of price endings used in US and Japanese price advertising", International Marketing Review, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 17-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651330910933186

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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