Interesting Results
Prices, Perceptions, and Product Performance
Marketers have long understood that prices can influence perceptions about product performance, but new research1 shows that the price people pay can influence actual performance experienced by people using the same product. In a series of experiments, researchers examined the performance of people completing puzzles after consuming drinks claimed to improve mental performance. Those who purchased the drinks for a discounted price were able to solve fewer puzzles than those who purchased the exact same drink at the regular price. Calling attention to the ability of the drink to improve mental performance enhanced this effect while calling attention to the ability of the drink to improve mental performance given the price paid diminished the effect.
1 Shiv, Baba, Ziv Carmon, and Dan Ariely (2005), “Placebo Effects of Marketing Actions: Consumers May Get What they Pay For”, Journal of Marketing Research, 42(4), 383-393.