The influence of preciseness of price information on the travel option choice

$159.99, 159.38 or $160.00? The phenomenon of pricing around a rounded number, with apparent preciseness, is commonly observed in the marketplace. Much research has been conducted in the general area, and has established that the use of precise prices, those without a zero-ending, tends to lead to increased sales and to a more positive customer attitude. To date, the best explanation offered is that most people read from left to right, so the last numbers of a price may be less salient than the leading numbers. In an endeavor to establish a better understanding of the phenomenon, this research consists of five experiments in a tourism context to first clarify the phenomenon and account for possible alternative explanations, and then to provide empirical evidence that different representations of price can imply different construal levels, and thus influence consumers' choice preference in tourism marketing.