Relative Price Level of 99-Ending Prices: Image Versus Reality

Consumer research has indicated that the use of the 99 ending in a retail price creates the impression of a price that is relatively low. A comparative price survey of a wide assortment of general merchandise products indicates that this impression does not match marketplace reality. On the contrary, the price survey showed that retail prices with 99 endings were less likely than prices with other endings to be among the lower prices for an item. The finding of this discrepancy has implications for consumers, public policy-makers, and our understanding of how consumers make inferences from price information.