They all say exactly the same thing. But tests show that one out-performs the others. Guess which one? Its the “Buy-one-get-one-free”. Why? The magic word ‘FREE’ is in the headline for a start. You will often see TV infomercials offering an expensive product, and at the end offer a second one FREE!
This is used the clinch the deal, significantly dropping the price in the mind of the customer, Each one comes down from say $399 to just $199. What the consumer doesn’t get is that they still fork out $399. The cost of processing and shipping the second identical items is tiny compared to the cost of generating the sale in the first place, hence why the seller can make this offer.
“50% Off” or variations of this are used a lot. The problem is that few people can calculate a percentage discount. If you have the sign read, “Normally $9.99, but today 50% off” not many can work out that that’s $5. But most can determine that “Half Price” of $9.99 is about $5.
Take this one step further. In an experiment I conducted in a pharmacy, a health supplement was offered at “Normally $29.95 – today 50% off!” The same item was offered the following week at “normally $29.95, today only $19.95”. Which one performed better? The one at $19.95. The reason is simply that the customer knew what they would be paying. At 50% off… few could work out what the cost was, despite it being a better offer.
So in order of effectiveness, “Buy-one-get-one-free” wins, followed by “Half Price” with “50% Off” coming in last. Yet the percentage drop is the one we see most often.