How Dollar Shave Club Used Price Anchoring to Steal Customers
See how Dollar Shave Club used simple price-anchoring math in their image ads to convince men to stop buying expensive store-bought razors.
Introduction
Dollar Shave Club is famous for their hilarious launch video, but a funny video is not enough to keep a business growing for years. To scale their company into a giant, they had to rely on smart, simple static ads on Facebook and Instagram.
The Challenge
Men were used to going to the pharmacy and spending $20 on a pack of razor blades. Dollar Shave Club needed to remind them how expensive and annoying that trip to the store really was.
The Ad Strategy
They used a psychological trick called "Price Anchoring." Their image ads simply showed their high-quality razor next to a massive block of text. The text read: "Stop paying $20 for razors. Get awesome blades delivered for $9." By putting the big number ($20) right next to their small number ($9), their product felt like an absolute steal.
The Results
The math was impossible to argue with. Men clicked the ads because the deal was simply too good to pass up. This logical, price-focused advertising helped them steal millions of customers from giant razor brands.
The Key Takeaway for Your Store
If you sell a product that saves people money compared to the "normal" way of doing things, make sure you put those numbers right on your image! Make the customer feel like they are getting a great deal.
Reference: Public DTC Marketing Studies - Dollar Shave Club
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