Are Fluent Anchors More Effective? Field Experiment on Anchoring, Anchor Fluency, and Willingness to Pay

Abstract

Processing fluency of stimuli has been shown to impact consumers’ decision-making. We investigate whether inhibiting the processing fluency of an anchor results in a more pronounced anchoring effect, as is proposed in the existing literature. We use a point-of-purchase field experiment to test the hypothesis that a disfluent anchor in a product name influences consumers’ willingness to pay for this product more than a fluent anchor. The results provide strong support against the fluency—willingness to pay relationship. Contrary to theoretical predictions, our study cautions marketing practitioners against the use of low-fluency anchors in product names.