1,001 sells more than 1,000

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📝 Intro

Imagine you’re launching a limited-edition offer and you decided to create only 1,000 products. You’re sure it’s going to be a successful launch, scarcity is a powerful persuasive tactic.

But what if there was a simple way to make it even more successful?

Science says adding a +1 to the limited  quantity you’re offering can make people even more willing to buy.

P.S.: Scarcity can be powerful, but be careful of the potential downside. Customers who miss out could get enraged.

Want hundreds more insights like these? Explore all Science Says insights here.

Numbers that slightly exceed a familiar boundary (e.g. 100) increase willingness to buy 

Topics: Promotions | Messaging & Copy
For: B2C. Can be tested for B2B 
Research date: May 2018
Universities: Nanjing University. Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

📈 Recommendation

Use numbers that slightly exceed a clean category boundary (e.g. 1,001 instead of 1,000) when listing product quantities, rankings (e.g. “Top 101 SEO tools”  vs “Top 100 SEO tools”) or when using numbers in relation to your product (e.g. “Xsteel 101” vs “Xsteel 100” for a watch model name).

This will make people more willing to choose your product and pay for it. 

🎓 Findings

• When people see numbers that slightly exceed a familiar boundary (e.g. 1,001 instead of 1,000), they are more likely to buy. 

• Across 9 experiments with 2,081 people, researchers found that when numbers slightly exceeded boundaries vs not (e.g. 1001 vs 1000):

  • People were willing to pay 219.5% more for a limited-edition watch

  • People were willing to pay 48.4% more for a product ranked in the top 101 of that category.

  • The proportion of people who chose a book titled "1,001 Places to See Before You Die" book increased by 33% (vs “1,000 Places”)

• The effect weakens as numbers get distant from the boundary (e.g. 105 vs 101).

• The effect disappears for prices (e.g. $101 vs $100) and when used together with other persuasive tactics (e.g. Using “Only 101 available", together with social proof “Rated 4.5”).

🧠 Why it works

• We perceive numbers like 1,001 as unexpected and irregular because they slightly differ from familiar numerical references and category points (e.g., 1,000, 100).

• This difference surprises us and catches our attention.

• Which makes us more likely to desire the product. 

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✋ Limitations

• The study only looked at online choices, the effect might differ in physical shopping environments where other elements (e.g. music, product displays) influence decisions.

• The study did not look at the effect on very large numbers (e.g. 300,001). The effect might not apply to such high numbers as people would be more focused on and influenced by the left digit.

• The study mostly looked at numbers exceeding the boundary by 1. Other numbers might have the same effect for specific references (e.g. 24.5 hour sale vs 24 hours).

🏢 Companies using this

• Companies often use rounded numbers for limited edition products or rankings, but a few companies are using this method.

• A rare example in ecommerce is skateboarding store everybodyskates, they offered only 101 products of their limited edition 40’’ bigboard.

• Bookkeeping.ai, an accounting Saas offers an 8 days free trial which is in contrast with the usual 7 days timeframe, this might be more effective than the standard 7 days free trials.

• Companies often create limited spaces for getting new features. For instance Fillout recently launched a new feature “zite” and is making it available to 500 users per week. Adding a +1 might have increased the effectiveness of the gated offer (e.g. “we’re letting in 501 people per week”).

Australian bookstore Dymocks pairs their top 101 book ranking with a 3 for 2 offer. The persuasive effect of the +1 likely disappears as it is paired with another persuasive strategy.

⚡ Steps to implement

Use numbers just over a round number if you’re creating rankings or naming new products (e.g. a book titled “101 copywriting strategies” vs “100 copywriting strategies”).

• If you’re in one of the last positions in a ranking (e.g. 3rd place out of the top 3), expand the ranking to be considered higher (e.g. Go from top 3 to top 101, you’ll be positioned top)

• Add +1 to limited edition quantities offers (e.g. Only 1,001 available).

• Don’t use it for prices as it could backfire.

• Don’t use it in combination with other persuasive tactics (e.g. “top 101 SEO tools” vs “top 101 SEO tools recommended by Niel Patel”) as it would not be as effective. 

🔍 Study type

Online experiments.

📖 Research

The Minimal Deviation Effect: Numbers Just above a Categorical Boundary Enhance Consumer Desire. Journal of Consumer Research (December 2018)

🏫 Researchers

• Yunhui Huang. Nanjing University.

• Han Gong. Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Remember: This is a scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s how science works). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely.

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