Decoy effect
Adding a clearly worse option makes a similar, better option more attractive.
Where it applies
Two of the eight page areas.
How to use it
Three ways to use it, and one to avoid.
- Use it only where options are compared on numbers, such as plan tables, pack sizes or multi-buy tiers.
- Make the target clearly better value than a neighbouring option.
- Expect little effect where shoppers judge by photos, taste or feel.
- Avoid: advertising a product and then declining to supply it in order to promote a different one, a banned practice under the DMCC Act 2024.
What the research found
It appears mainly with numbers and largely vanishes with photographs or real experience.
Yang and Lynn got only 11 reliable effects in 91 attempts.
Appears mainly when every attribute is shown as a number. Frederick and colleagues found it largely vanished with photographs or real experience, and Yang and Lynn got only 11 reliable effects in 91 attempts. A study of an online diamond retailer did find it in real sales, estimating a 14.3% lift in gross profit, though shoppers rarely noticed the decoys.
Key research
Seven sources, each checked.
Last reviewed
Huber, Payne & Puto (1982) Adding Asymmetrically Dominated Alternatives: Violations of Regularity and the Similarity Hypothesis J. Consumer Research Read the source Frederick, Lee & Baskin (2014) The Limits of Attraction J. Marketing Research Read the source Yang & Lynn (2014)Replication More Evidence Challenging the Robustness and Usefulness of the Attraction Effect J. Marketing Research Read the source Wu & Cosguner (2020) Profiting from the Decoy Effect: A Case Study of an Online Diamond Retailer Marketing Science Read the source Doyle, O'Connor, Reynolds & Bottomley (1999) The robustness of the asymmetrically dominated effect: Buying frames, phantom alternatives, and in-store purchases Psychology & Marketing Read the source Heath & Chatterjee (1995)Meta-analysis Asymmetric Decoy Effects on Lower-Quality Versus Higher-Quality Brands: Meta-Analytic and Experimental Evidence J. Consumer Research Read the source Huber, Payne & Puto (2014) Let's Be Honest About the Attraction Effect J. Marketing Research Read the source
Before you use it · UK law
Every option shown must be genuinely on sale. Advertising a product and then declining to supply it in order to promote a different one is a banned practice under the DMCC Act 2024 (Schedule 20).
This is simply a pointer to check, not legal advice. Seek legal advice before you put this principle into action.