Hyperbolic Discounting

One of these ads looks 108% better value.

Can you guess which?

In 2025, Shotton and Flicker¹ tested ads like this in their book.

282 consumers were shown Sierra Nevada Pale Ale priced at $18.99 for 12 bottles.

Half were told this equated to $1.58 per bottle.

Among those shown the per-bottle price, 28.6% said it was good or very good value (more than double the 13.7% who only saw the total price).

Framing the cost at the per-unit level made the purchase feel more reasonable and affordable.

This is why the Huel ad on the right looks like much better value than the one on the left.

And why Nespresso became insanely popular by creating ads that talked about price per pod, not price per gram.

I'm using this very Nudge on the landing page for my latest product (let me know if you spot it).

The takeaway is simple.

Want your price to appear better value? Break it down. — Phill

P.S. Hacking The Human Mind is easily one of the best behavioural science books I've read this year. I can't recommend it enough.

¹Hacking the Human Mind, Shotton and Flicker (2025)

As a behavioural science practitioner, I believe in the peak-end rule.

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