4. How to present promotions — percentage or value-based?

What’s more likely to encourage customers to buy? A percentage discount (e.g. 20% off) or a value-based one (e.g. “save 100 PLN”)?

As always — it depends. The key is to present the promotion in a way that makes it appear as attractive as possible. In other words, highlight the version that uses a larger number. Let’s look at two examples.

You’re buying shoes that originally cost 200 PLN. Which version of the discount sounds more appealing?

– 50 PLN off

– 25% off

Even though the discount is identical in value, the number “50” feels bigger than “25”, making the offer appear more appealing.

Now let’s consider a smaller purchase — a book that used to cost 30 PLN. You see two promotional options:

– 10% off

– 3 PLN off

At first glance, “10” looks bigger than “3”, so the percentage feels like the better deal. So where’s the tipping point between when to use percentages vs. absolute value?

Jonah Berger, in his 2013 book^[1], called this the “Rule of 100”:

If the price is below 100 PLN, use a percentage discount (e.g. 33%).

If the price is above 100 PLN, use a value-based discount (e.g. 50 PLN).

 ^[1] Berger J., “Contagious: Why Things Catch On”, 2013