Price-anchoring offer

The pattern

This commercial ad is filed under Price-anchoring offer.

Define

A higher reference number is shown first so the real price reads as a concession, not as a starting bid.

Mechanism

People judge a price against the first number they see. The anchor must be a real comparison or it collapses.

Verdict

We have a credible reference the buyer will accept

Why it works

Each device sits in its own box with the same layout: brand logo, specs, old price, new price and saving, so a shopper comparing a 549 tablet with a 599 laptop does it in seconds. The saving is stated in riyals, not percent, which makes the 250 off the iPad read as a large sum. The window is only three days, so the anchor has a deadline.

The big idea

A three-day weekend window on screens, with every device priced against its old price, so the saving per model can be read at a glance.

The offer

Weekend prices, 26 to 28 March 2020, hypermarkets only, while stocks last: iPad 7 1149 SAR, Asus notebook 899, Samsung Tab A 549, HP printer 89, Lenovo tablet with free gift pack.

The proof

Struck-through old prices with the saving in each tag, from 30 SAR on the printer to 250 on the iPad and 200 on the Asus, plus memory and storage specs per device.

Lines from the ad

أكثر بكثير من مجرد توفير!

Much more than just savings

عروض نهاية الأسبوع

Weekend offers

Steal this when

When a retailer is discounting several competing models in one category and shoppers will compare them side by side.