The Economist Added an Awful Subscription Plan Nobody Would Want and Sales Went Up 43%?!

In today's video I am breaking down the unexpected but effective strategy The Economist used to increase their sales by 43%.

Here's what happened...

The Economist added a new, seemingly awful subscription plan that nobody in their right mind would want. But, guess what happened? Sales went up! All thanks to a clever principle called the "decoy effect".

In essence, the decoy effect is the practice of adding a new offer, not with the aim of selling it, but to make your preferred option more appealing. It’s like a magician's trick, directing the audience’s attention to where you want.

The Economist, while transitioning to an online platform, had a dilemma. They had two subscription plans: web-only for $59/year and web + print for $125/year. Contrary to their expectations, the pricier option wasn't flying off the shelves. That's when they introduced a print-only option priced the same as the print + web bundle - a "decoy" to make the latter look like a steal.

The result? The $125/year option surged in popularity, increasing its share from 32% to a massive 84%. This little tweak boosted their revenue by 43%. And it wasn’t magic, just good old consumer psychology.

If you’re curious to learn more about how this works, and how you can implement the decoy effect in your business, you’ll want to watch this video. You might be surprised at the power of a well-placed decoy.

Video Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction and Overview of Video's Theme
0:47 - Definition and Explanation of the Decoy Effect
1:41 - Description of The Economist's Initial Digital Pricing Model
2:26 - Implementation of the Third Option (The Decoy) in Pricing
3:49 - Impact of the Decoy Effect on Sales and Revenue
5:04 - Broader Application of the Decoy Effect in Business
6:02 - The Decoy Effect in Society and Everyday Life
6:22 - Closing Remarks and Preview of Future Content

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