Price Design
Place Prices Toward the Left
Prices seem cheaper on the left.
Last updated October 23, 2024
Overview
Where should you place a price?
Try the left side.
Left = Small Number Line
Every culture has a number line.
If you read from left to right, you conceptualize small numbers on the left:
...people typically see small numbers to the left of larger ones, [so] they are likely to associate small numerical values with locations on the left (Cai et al., 2012, p. 723)
Right = Finger Path
On mobile devices, users need to cross over prices if they're located toward the right.
These thumb paths might orient their attention toward prices, discouraging them from buying.
Right = Heavy
Objects on the right pull downward:
...because our eyes enter a visual field from the left, the left naturally becomes the anchor point or ‘visual fulcrum.’ Thus, the further an object is placed away from the left side (or the fulcrum), the heavier the perceived weight (Deng & Kahn, 2009, p. 9).
Therefore, prices feel heavy toward the right
You can try The Cliff Test to judge whether a price feels expensive:
- Center your price on a cliff
- If it falls, then it feels expensive
If you can't move the price, insert text on the left to counterbalance the weight.
Caveats
- Place Calls to Action Toward the Right. You typically see a price and buy button toward the right of ecommerce pages. That makes sense. Buttons feel more clickable toward the right because most people are right-handed (and these rightward actions feel easier to do; Casasanto, 2009).
- Positions Are Relative. Even if you place a price toward the right side of an ecommerce page, you can keep it toward the left side of this payment section.
- Barone, M. J., Coulter, K. S., & Li, X. (2020). The Upside of Down: Presenting a Price in a Low or High Location Influences How Consumers Evaluate It. Journal of Retailing, 96(3), 397-410.
- Cai, F., Shen, H., & Hui, M. K. (2012). The effect of location on Price estimation: understanding number–location and number–order associations. Journal of Marketing Research, 49(5), 718-724.
- Casasanto, D. (2009). Embodiment of abstract concepts: good and bad in right-and left- handers. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 138(3), 351.
- Coulter, K. S. (2002). The influence of print advertisement organization on odd-ending price image effects. Journal of Product & Brand Management.
- Deng, X., & Kahn, B. E. (2009). Is your product on the right side? The “location effect” on perceived product heaviness and package evaluation. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(6), 725-738.
- Park, J., & Ma, Y. J. (2019). Number-location bias: do consumers correctly process the number on the product package?. Journal of Product & Brand Management.