The McDonald’s Effect

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In this newsletter, you will find

🍔 How McDonald’s Mastered Pricing Psychology—and Boosted Global Sales by 9.5%

📢 Google Upgrades Responsive Search Ads

🚀Ad of the Day

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🍔 How McDonald’s Mastered Pricing Psychology—and Boosted Global Sales by 9.5%

What if I told you that one small visual tweak on a menu board could drive billions of dollars in extra revenue? Sounds like magic, right? But that’s exactly what McDonald’s pulled off with its 2023 global pricing psychology experiment.

This wasn’t just about dropping prices or launching promotions. It was a masterclass in understanding how the brain processes price—and how to nudge customers toward “yes.”

Why Pricing Isn’t Just About Numbers—It’s About Perception

Studies in Neural Computing have revealed something wild: Seeing currency symbols like “$” triggers the same brain regions associated with physical pain. Yep—just glancing at a “$” can subconsciously hurt.

Luxury restaurants have known this for years, which is why their menus often show “14” instead of “$14.” McDonald’s took that insight mainstream—and on a massive scale.

McDonald’s Bold Experiment: Changing How We See Prices

McDonald’s didn’t just remove dollar signs. They completely restructured the customer’s visual journey:

Prices moved below item descriptions: Instead of seeing “Big Mac $4.99,” customers saw:

👉 Big Mac

👉 4.99

Why it works: Your brain now processes desire first, cost second—making you more likely to order.

Item photos became 40% larger: Bigger images trigger stronger cravings, reducing rational price considerations.

Customer favorites were highlighted: Social proof works wonders—people want what others love.

Top-rated items appeared first: Positioning best-sellers at the top guides faster decisions and reduces price sensitivity.

The Results? Mind-Blowing.

By applying these subtle psychological shifts, McDonald’s achieved:

• 9.5% global sales increase in 2023—without slashing prices or launching new products. 
• Higher AOV (average order value) as customers focused on what they wanted rather than what it cost. 
• Improved speed of decision-making, reducing choice paralysis and long lines.

How Can DTC Brands Steal This Genius Playbook?

• Rearrange your pricing presentation: Move prices below descriptions or separate them visually from product names. Let desire lead.
• Remove currency symbols where possible: Consider showing “49” instead of “$49” in checkout flows or product pages—reducing the pain of paying trigger.
• Use visuals to drive impulse decisions: Make product images larger and highlight top-rated or best-selling items first to guide faster choices.
• Leverage social proof next to pricing: Phrases like “Most Popular” or “Customer Favorite” can shift focus from price to value.

McDonald’s proved that pricing isn’t just about what you charge—it’s about how people feel when they see the price. Desire before cost. Craving before calculation.

That’s the psychology behind their 9.5% sales boost—and it’s a playbook DTC brands can adopt starting today.

🚀 Looking for more data-backed insights to win in 2025? Download The 2025 Advertising & Marketing Report to unlock fresh tactics shaping the future.

📢 Google Upgrades Responsive Search Ads
Insights from SEJ and SEL

Google is raising the bar for ad relevance and user experience, refining how ads appear in search results to ensure clearer messaging and better engagement for both advertisers and audiences.

The Breakdown:

• Headlines Can Now Appear as Sitelinks - Up to two RSA headlines may serve as sitelinks when predicted to improve performance, linking directly to the final URL for a more seamless user experience.
• AI-Powered Asset Assembly for Better Relevance - Google’s AI now omits elements like descriptions when it boosts engagement, creating more relevant ad combinations that improve click-through rates.
• Improved Reporting With Maintained Asset Pinning - Pinned headlines and descriptions retain their placements, while the updated Combinations Report shows headline performance (including sitelinks) for clearer campaign insights.

These updates strike a balance between automation and control, empowering marketers to enhance ad relevance while maintaining messaging integrity. For users, it means seeing ads that are less cluttered and more aligned with their search intent.

🎥 Ad of the Day

What Works:

The headline, "Clear breakouts without drying skin," addresses a key consumer pain point—acne treatments that cause dryness—making the message immediately relatable and solution-oriented.

The minimalistic composition and close-up focus on the skin and product emphasize texture and product efficacy. The glossy, hydrated skin subtly reinforces the product’s promise of clear, moisturized skin.

What Could Be Better:

Increasing the sample size or adding details on study outcomes could strengthen consumer confidence. Additionally, showing before-and-after images or user testimonials could provide tangible proof of results, enhancing persuasion.

Broader Insights:

Acne solutions often come with trade-offs like dryness; highlighting the avoidance of that issue directly taps into customer frustrations. Partnering with a trusted retailer like Sephora not only boosts visibility but reassures quality-conscious consumers, capitalizing on brand loyalty and established trust.

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