The Psychology of Discount Framing: The Rule of 100

Here's a simple question that most eCommerce brands get wrong: should you advertise '20% off' or '$20 off'?

The answer depends on your price point, and it's rooted in behavioral psychology.

The Rule of 100 states:
- For products under $100: percentage discounts appear larger
- For products over $100: absolute dollar discounts appear larger

Why? Because our brains compare discount numbers to the base number 100.

'20% off' sounds better than '$15 off' because 20 > 15.
'$30 off' sounds better than '15% off' because 30 > 15.

One electronics retailer applied this principle across their entire catalog and saw a 22% increase in conversion rates, leading to a 19% revenue lift - with zero change to their actual discount levels.

This isn't manipulation; it's communication optimization. You're presenting the same value in the way that resonates most with how humans process numerical information.

The lesson? Test your discount framing. The difference between '25% off' and '$25 off' could be thousands in revenue.