The Role of Psychological Pricing Strategy in Customer Purchasing Behavior

This study aimed to clarify the role of psychological pricing strategies, specifically fractional pricing, Decimal Point, price line size, and price line color, in guiding the customer buying behavior of Al-Salam chain stores in Kirkuk Governorate, through their combined dimensions of cognitive response, emotional response, and purchasing. The research problem stemmed from the lack of awareness among the management of Al-Salam stores in Kirkuk Governorate regarding the impact of these strategies on consumer purchasing behavior. Psychological pricing is supposed to be a tool for maximizing sales and acquiring the largest possible number of customers. Therefore, to achieve the objective and address the research problem, the descriptive-analytical approach was adopted. The study was based on two main hypotheses, which sought to determine the correlation and influence between psychological pricing strategies, represented by their dimensions (fractional pricing, price intervals, price line size, and price line color), and guiding consumer purchasing behavior. To collect and analyze the data, a questionnaire was designed for this purpose and distributed to 400 customers of Al-Salam chain stores in Kirkuk Governorate. (340) questionnaires were returned, and among these questionnaires, (288) questionnaires were valid for statistical analysis, as all of their items were answered and no item was left unanswered. The valid questionnaire data formed the basis for reaching a set of results, which proved the existence of a strong correlation and influence of psychological pricing at the micro level, represented by (fractional prices, price interval, price line size, and price line color), and at the macro level in directing the customer's purchasing behavior with its aggregate dimensions, represented by (cognitive response, emotional response, and purchase).