How the Decoy Effect Steers Every Choice You Make

In this episode, Lucas and Luna break down the decoy effect—a pricing and product placement tactic that makes one option look irresistible by adding a third, inferior choice. They trace it back to a famous 1992 experiment by Dan Ariely and Amos Tversky, where magazine subscription ads with an expensive print-only option made a print-plus-digital bundle seem like a steal. Then they explore how it shows up today: in cinema popcorn sizes, airline seat upgrades, and even LinkedIn Premium pricing tiers. Lucas explains why The Economist's original three-option structure (web-only, print-only, print+web) is the textbook case, and why removing the decoy collapses sales of the target. They discuss the ethical line between helpful framing and manipulation, and why knowing the decoy doesn't stop it from working on you. No hot takes—just a clear look at one of the most quietly powerful pricing tools in marketing. #DecoyEffect #BehavioralEconomics #PricingStrategy #ConsumerBehavior #DanAriely #TheEconomist #MarketingPsychology #ChoiceArchitecture #CognitiveBiases #ProductPricing #SalesStrategy #RetailMarketing #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Marketing #PsychologyOfChoice #SubscriptionPricing #PersuasionTechniques Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo