Input Bias

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Does the 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 put into a shop display 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 influence sales?

That's what Morales¹ set out to answer in 2005.

Participants were shown round the same store, except half saw the shelves 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬.

The other participants saw the same products, but with a 𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲.

The results are striking.

Those who saw the high-effort display were willing to pay 24.4% 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆.

After seeing a store display like Boots, customers were willing to pay $8.22.

But those who saw a display like Lush's were willing to pay $10.51 for the 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒔.

The cost of creating impressive displays is (for most stores) no more than 1% of total revenue. Yet this fairly insignificant change could boost revenue by 24%.

Next, a different group were asked if they'd visit a store that created a high effort display like this Lego example (on the right).

Turns out, participants were 20% more likely to visit if the store had created a high-effort display.

Finally, a group of homebuyers who visited an estate agency were told one of two things.

1. That the estate agent had spent 9 hours handpicking the listings
2. That the estate agent had spent 1 hour finding the listings using a computer

The list of homes was the same in both scenarios.

Buyers rated the agent more positively (higher on a 100-point scale) and felt more gratitude (3.90 vs 2.70) when the estate agent said they spent 9 hours handpicking the listings.

The takeaway is simple.

The research shows that consumers reward firms for extra effort.

So, don't hide your effort, showcase it.

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This is known as the input bias.

Inside the Nudge Vaults you'll find 18 more insights specifically about this bias.

I've spent six years researching insights for the Vaults and six months putting it all together*.

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Hope you enjoyed today's newsletter — Phill​

P.S. All of these examples come from this wonderful paper by Andrea Morales.

*Yes, that was a blatant use of the input bias; good spot.