The study shows reaching a goal expressed in round numbers results in higher levels of customer satisfaction. That was particularly true when the final goal was still distant. Hitting intermediate targets expressed as round numbers increased customers’ feeling of progress at low levels of achievement.

«Most people have a preference for round numbers,» said Kunter Gunasti, an assistant professor of marketing and international business at WSU’s Carson College of Business. «Hitting a round number makes us feel more complete. This happens when we’re taking tests, getting paid, leaving tips or pumping gas.»

Many of us, for instance, would be more excited about receiving a $2,000 paycheck in Canadian currency than the U.S equivalent of $1,521, Gunasti said. And, being told that we’ve lost 10 kilograms might give us a greater feeling of achievement than hearing the identical amount expressed as 22 pounds.

New research by Gunasti and Timucin Ozcan, an associate marketing professor at James Madison University, demonstrates how effective round numbers can be in consumer marketing campaigns. Their work, which was published in the journal Marketing Letters, measures how consumers’ feelings of accomplishment are influenced by changing the scales used to track progress.

Studies test effect of round numbers in wages, loyalty programs, video games

Gunasti and Ozcan said reaching a goal expressed in round numbers results in higher levels of customer satisfaction. That was particularly true when the final goal was still distant, the researchers said. Hitting intermediate targets expressed as round numbers increased customers’ feeling of progress at low levels of achievement.

Story Source: Materials provided by Washington State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.