Passing through the supermarket recently I noticed there were these packages of chocolate candy that looked like a no-name version of some O Henry bar that wasn’t selling where originally it was about $15 a box for 500 grams. I was tempted but it was too expensive I felt. It then dropped to $8 with a clearance sign but it simply wasn’t moving. So this week they dropped it to $5. That’s not a bad price but it seemed like to was still not being sold. That’s weird as most people would grab them to try knowing they save that much.
There lies the problem I thought where the reason people weren’t buying it is that the sign just said clearance and there was no indication what the original price was. Therefore, people just see it as any kind of chocolate where they would probably only get it if it was even cheaper at say $3. It shows the importance of listing how much of a discount people are actually getting as it just triggers that sense of you gotta buy it since it such a great deal. A clearance sign is more for people who are aware of the original product value.
It’s no coincidence why people do that on Black Fridays and the amount saved signs always gets most people. Such a little change too that would have probably made a drastic difference.