Why do prices always end in .99?

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Chronic migraine is 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more.

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Why do prices always end in 99?

Thanks for asking.

Two pounds 99 for biscuits, six pounds 99 for moisturizer, or four pounds 99 for a mixer. In shops, one small detail stands out. Price tags overwhelmingly end in 99 It's eye-catching, though not exactly convenient for anyone trying to track their spending. Is it really so common?

Yes. In the UK, research by Bray and Harris found that around 64% of shelf prices end in 99 In other words, more than one in two. Is that a recent invention? Not really. In the early 20th century, a cautious American hardware store owner suspected a salesman of pocketing cash from customers who paid directly at the shelves. To force every sale through the till, he switched to prices ending in 99, which required the salesman to give change. Whether the employee was actually dishonest remains a mystery, but the tactics stuck.

Is that why prices still end in 99? No. Today it's all about marketing. This is known as psychological pricing. Our brains tend to latch on to the left-handed digits and downplay the pence. So £4.99 feels more like £4, not almost five. It creates the impression of a bargain. In consumer psychology, Nicholas Gaggen cites research showing that products priced at 99 not only sell more, but prompt customers to buy in larger quantities. For the sake of one penny, retailers win big. In short, prices keep ending in 99 because the trick works, and has done for over a century. So it's worth pausing over those few extra pence and asking yourself whether £4.99 is really a deal or just a clever trick. There you have it.

Now you know why prices always end in 99 In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you really will know for sure.