Framing Effect

Showing '90% of customers re-order' converts better than '10% don't re-order', even though both statements describe the same data. The positive frame triggers a different decision from the negative frame.

No. Anchoring is about reference points — showing a €200 'was' price next to a €120 'now' price. Framing is about how the same information is described. They often appear together on a product page but they're distinct cognitive biases.

Use whichever number is bigger. On a €200 product, '€40 off' feels larger than '20% off'. On a €15 product, '20% off' feels larger than '€3 off'. The crossover sits around €50-€100 for most categories.

No. Loss framing wins for urgency, scarcity, and cart-abandonment ('Don't lose your 10% off'), but gain framing tends to win for upper-funnel acquisition and brand-positive messaging. Test both per context.

Framing lifts typically run 5-20%, so plan for 8,000-25,000 visitors per variant on a 3% baseline conversion rate. Use a sample size calculator with your real baseline rather than relying on rules of thumb.

It's one of the most testable entries in the cognitive biases family, alongside anchoring, social proof, and the decoy effect. It's especially useful because it requires no change to the underlying offer — only the wording.

Yes, when it actively misleads. '90% fat-free' is honest reframing; '90% chance of success' for a product with no such evidence is deceptive. The bar is whether the literal claim is accurate.

Structure it as: 'Because [audience] responds more strongly to [loss/gain/absolute/percent] frames, changing [element] from [frame A] to [frame B] will lift [metric] by [estimated range].' Pre-register the expected direction.

Start with the highest-traffic, highest-stakes copy: the discount label on the product page, the shipping threshold message in the cart, and the urgency line in cart-abandonment emails. These three together usually account for the biggest measurable wins.

It works in B2B too, but the effect sizes are smaller because B2B buyers are more likely to do explicit comparison and review by committee. In direct-to-consumer purchases, where decisions happen in seconds, framing has more room to move the needle.