IMAGE EFFECTS BY THE USE OF 99 PRICE ENDINGS

Abstract

The psychological “just-below-the-round-number pricing” of 9 or 99 price endings is widespread in retail sales. However, it may affect both price image and quality image. This paper investigates the price-image and quality image communicated by the use of 99 endings in advertised prices. Two advertisements of woman apparels have been created, the prices of one ads appear with 99 endings and the other appear with 00 endings, both advertisements are on the same page for comparison. Respondents are 385 women working in both government offices and private enterprises. The respondents were asked to look at the advertisements and answered the questionnaire. It is found that the subjects are likely to perceive the 99 ending advertised prices as rather be low prices, be discount prices, attract interest in the products and help in making purchasing decision than the 00 ending advertised prices. Moreover, the 99 price endings do not communicate unfavorable quality image, the subjects wound rather not perceive them as being low quality, being low reliability, being out-of-fashion products and being lesser-known products than the 00 ending advertised prices.