The Economist sold 262% more of its top plan by adding an option nobody buys

The Economist had two subscription options:

Web only: $59
Print + Web: $125

Only 32% chose the expensive one. Then they added a third option:

Web only: $59
Print only: $125
Print + Web: $125

"Print only" at the same price as "Print + Web" makes no sense to buy. That's the point. It exists to make "Print + Web" look like an obvious steal. Sales of the top tier jumped 262%.

This is the decoy effect, and it's one of the easiest things to add to a pricing page. You introduce an option nobody's meant to pick, and it quietly pushes people toward the one you want.

If you've got tiered pricing, you might be one decoy away from moving everyone up a tier.

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The Economist sold 262% more of its top plan by adding an option nobody buys