2021/03/18 by Judith Hillen
Business, Management and Accounting · Decision Sciences · #Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing #Consumer Retail Behavior Studies #Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting
paper · doi:10.1108/bfj-09-2020-0847
crossref issued 2021/03/18 · crossref published 2021/03/18 · crossref published-online 2021/03/18 · openalex publication_date 2021/03/18 · crossref created 2021/03/20 · crossref published-print 2021/10/22 · crossref deposited 2025/07/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Purpose This study aims to analyse the use of psychological pricing in online food retailing. In stationary grocery shops, psychological prices with nine-endings have been a well-documented phenomenon for many decades. However, little is known about the relevance of this pricing practice in the growing grocery e-commerce sector. Design/methodology/approach The authors investigate the frequency of nine-ending prices at Amazon Fresh for more than 10,000 products from May 2019 until March 2020 for the customer location Berlin, Germany. Applying a within–between logit model, the authors identify the determinants for the use of nine-ending prices. Findings The authors find that more than 70% of all prices end in the digit 9. This indicates that Amazon Fresh applies psychological pricing to a similar degree as traditional offline grocers. Nine-ending prices are more likely for so-called “want” products such as snacks and sweets than for “should” products such as fruits and vegetables. Also, psychological price endings are used less for products with a higher price level and for products with temporary sales promotions. Originality/value This study is the first to analyse psychological pricing practices for the world's largest online food retailer Amazon Fresh. The study results contrast with most previous empirical and theoretical studies, which suggest that the use of psychological prices would decline in an online context.