Are Fluent Anchors More Effective? Field Experiment on Anchoring, Anchor Fluency, and Willingness to Pay

Tereza Simkova, Michal Durinik and Jakub Prochazka

SAGE Open, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 21582440241274831

Abstract: Processing fluency of stimuli has been shown to impact consumers’ decision-making. We investigate whether inhibiting the processing fluency of an anchor results in a more pronounced anchoring effect, as is proposed in the existing literature. We use a point-of-purchase field experiment to test the hypothesis that a disfluent anchor in a product name influences consumers’ willingness to pay for this product more than a fluent anchor. The results provide strong support against the fluency—willingness to pay relationship. Contrary to theoretical predictions, our study cautions marketing practitioners against the use of low-fluency anchors in product names.

Keywords: anchoring effect; willingness to pay; processing fluency; dual process theory; field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:3:p:21582440241274831

DOI: 10.1177/21582440241274831

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