Psychology · An
Anchoring.
The first number wins.
Anchoring is when the first number someone sees shapes every judgement after it. On a pricing or cost page, whoever shows the first number sets the yardstick. If it isn't you, it's a competitor or a forum post.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer applying published research. Last checked 27 October 2026.An illustration of the effect, not real data.
What the
research says.
Evidence: StrongOne of the most reliable effects in the field.
Tversky and Kahneman described people estimating numbers by adjusting from a starting value, and that this leads to predictable errors.
A review of the research decades later called anchoring one of the most reliable findings found in decision making.
Anchoring holds up better than most famous findings. A large replication project found it substantially more powerful than the original study suggested.
Even meaningless numbers anchor. Ariely, Loewenstein and Prelec found people's valuations of everyday products were strongly influenced by arbitrary anchors, sometimes taken from their social security numbers.
Knowing about it doesn't switch it off. Wilson and colleagues found anchoring hard to avoid even when people were warned about it, though people who knew the subject well were less affected. That's the practical point for pricing: a buyer who knows the market well anchors less, so the first number matters most for people buying something unfamiliar, like a first renovation, a first lawyer or a first accountant.
In your
marketing.
'How much does it cost' pages
Lead with a realistic range and what moves it up or down, before anyone else sets the anchor.
Trades
Packages
Show the most complete option first, so the others are judged against it.
B2B
Product pages
Show the price next to what it replaces or saves, not on its own.
E-commerce
Where it backfires
A made-up 'was' price. Buyers spot it, and misleading prices break Australian Consumer Law.
All
Who sets
the anchor?
On a cost question, someone sets the first number. It may as well be you, with real numbers.
| Situation | Anchor someone else sets | Anchor you can set |
|---|---|---|
| Bathroom renovation | A competitor's 'from $9,999' | Your real range, typical job and what pushes it up |
| Accounting | A friend's 'mine charges $200 a year' | What a business your size usually pays, and what is included |
| Web shop | The cheapest copy on a marketplace | What's included that the cheap copy leaves out |
| Physio | The health fund rebate, mistaken for the price | The fee, the likely rebate and the gap, side by side |
Try it
Set the anchor
before someone else does.
Put in what your jobs really cost: a small one, a typical one and a big one, plus what pushes the price up. You'll get an honest opening line for a cost page or a quote email. Use real numbers only.
The starting numbers are made up to show how it works. Replace them with yours.
Your opening line
Why this order
The range comes first, so the reader's yardstick is your real numbers, not a competitor's 'from $99' or a horror story. The typical job comes next, because that is where most people will land. What pushes it up comes last, so the top of the range makes sense instead of feeling like a trap.
Try this
Show your most complete package first, not last.
It backfires when
The anchor is obviously made up.
In my experience
Businesses that won't show any price don't avoid an anchor. They just hand it to a competitor or a forum thread. A page that says 'most jobs land in this range, and here's what pushes it up or down' tends to bring better enquiries than 'call for a quote', because people arrive expecting the right number.
Test it on
your own buyers.
- 1
Find your cost pages
Any page or quote where people decide if you're affordable.
- 2
Lead with a real range
Your honest low, typical and high, before any detail.
- 3
Measure the right thing
Enquiry rate and how often quotes are accepted. Watch for fewer 'too expensive' replies.
- 4
Never invent the anchor
A fake 'was' price is misleading under Australian Consumer Law. Anchors must be real.
Questions
people ask.
Does anchoring work on businesses, not just consumers?
Assume it does. Nobody is immune to the first number they see, whatever their job title.
Should I show prices on my website?
If you can, a real range usually helps. Without one, buyers anchor on whatever number they heard last. A range qualifies people in and out before they call.
Is a strikethrough price anchoring?
Yes, and it's only legal if the 'was' price is real. The ACCC's guidance is that a 'was' price must accurately reflect the most recent price, and an inflated one can be misleading.
Does anchoring work in Google Ads?
Yes. A 'from' price in the ad sets the anchor before the click, and turns away people the price would scare off anyway, so you don't pay for their clicks. Google's price assets let you show several prices under one ad.
Does anchoring replicate?
Well. A large replication project found the anchoring effect substantially stronger than the original study suggested.
Keep going
Where is this costing
you sales?
Takes a minute. Audits come back within 1 to 2 business days. For anything else, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.