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  • A meta‐analysis on the effe...
    Troll, Eve Sarah; Frankenbach, Julius; Friese, Malte; Loschelder, David D.

    Journal of consumer psychology, April 2024, Volume: 34, Issue: 2
    Journal Article

    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, CI95%0.01, 0.25), result in an advantageous price image (g = 0.28, CI95%0.09, 0.48), have no effect on perceived product quality (g = 0.00, CI95%−0.17, 0.18, p = 0.96), and are more often underestimated (g = 0.67, CI95%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.