Time-based anchoring: "was £99, now £49"

Quick answer

Time-based anchoring shows the original price next to the current price, framing today's price as a discount against history. 'Was £99, Now £49' is the cleanest version. The strikethrough does the cognitive work — the buyer sees £49 and immediately knows it's £50 less than it should be. This is one of the oldest pricing tactics in advertising and it still works as well as it ever did.

The psychology

The strikethrough is a visual anchor. The eye reads the crossed-out number first, locks it in, then reads the live number as 'less.' Even if the buyer has never seen the higher price before, the strikethrough creates the illusion of historical context. The brain processes 'crossed out' as 'old' and 'unstruck' as 'current,' and the gap between them is read as savings.

The second mechanic is plausible history. 'Was £99' implies that £99 was a real price the product used to sell at, which creates trust if it's true and damages trust if it's not. Buyers will Google the historical price, especially for brands they don't know. Honest 'was' prices compound; dishonest ones get the brand caught.

Example offer copy

Headline: Was £99, Now £49 — Our Annual Pro Plan, This Week Only

Primary text:
For the last 18 months, our Pro plan has been £99/year.

This week, to celebrate our 10,000th user, we're dropping it to £49/year for new subscribers.

That's everything Pro — unlimited generations, priority queue, no watermark, API access — for less than £4/month.

The £49 price closes Sunday at midnight. After that we go back to £99. We won't run this offer again until our 20,000th user (probably next spring).

Lock in £49 →

Why it works

The history is real and verifiable — the product really has been £99 for 18 months. The reason for the discount is named ('10,000th user celebration'), which makes the deviation feel principled. The deadline and the next-occurrence statement both prove the offer is finite. The £49/£99 anchoring does the heavy lifting on perceived value — the buyer reads it as a 50 percent saving against a real benchmark. Without the anchor, £49 is just a price; with it, £49 is a deal.

FAQs

Can I anchor against a price I've never charged?

No, not honestly. If you've never charged £99, don't claim to have. Use 'normally' only when it's literally true.

Where should the strikethrough go in the ad?

On the image is strongest. Top-left over the product photo with the new price next to it is the eye-tracker's first stop.

How long should the discount run?

3-7 days. Longer than a week and the urgency dies; shorter and not enough buyers see it.

Should I anchor on the landing page too?

Yes — keep the anchor visible everywhere so buyers don't lose the context between ad click and checkout.

Can I show three prices (was, normally, now)?

Yes — 'Was £149, normally £99, today £49' adds another layer of anchoring if all three are real prices the product has carried.

Stop guessing which offer will convert

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