An e-commerce test compared an $8 direct discount to a $10 free shipping offer. The free shipping won by a huge margin, even though it was worth more money. Removing friction feels better to customers than getting a bigger discount.
Would you rather an $8 discount or a $10 discount? Seems like an obvious question, but in one awesome study, an e-commerce company found the $8 discount to be much more effective. And you want to know the difference? When you offer a discount, it feels to your customer like you're pushing them. Now, this company framed the $8 discount differently. They said, "Free shipping." That was removing an obstacle, which is very different than pushing. And that led to a lot more people actually buying stuff. So when you're trying to influence, when you're trying to persuade, it's not all about pushing. Try to figure out what are those obstacles and can you remove those for your users or for your customers? Because that is going to get more action, even if it means less money in their pockets. Pretty cool. Give it a try.
The Franklin Effect: Turn Your Biggest Critic Into Your Strongest Supporter (Psychology Explained)
