BEHAVIOURAL PRINCIPLE SPOTLIGHT: DECOY EFFECT

THE ACT OF CHOOSING MATTERS

Including a similar but inferior third option can tip people’s preference towards the slightly better option.

A group of students were given the following magazine subscription options:

Online only: $59

Print only: $125

Print + Online: $125

When all three options were given, 84% chose the most expensive “combined option”. When the inferior, ‘decoy’, middle option was taken away and tested with a second group of students, interest in Print + Online dropped to just 32%.

Unseen Opportunity

Include a range of choices — some of which may be less attractive — in order to drive interest in other options.

References

Ariely, D. (2010). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. New York: Harper Perennial.