The experiment, “Does Writing Different Numerical Notations On The Label Of Discounting Products Affect People’s Purchasing Behavior?” was carried out at Ofogh-e-Kurosh Chain Stores in Iran. The experiment focused on popular purchasing items such as chocolate, chips, and biscuits in busy aisle shelves. Over the course of three weeks, the labels on these products were written in Persian numbers, fully English numbers, and a mixture of both, respectively. The results showed a significant difference in the amount of products purchased based on the numerical notation used on the label. Specifically, the use of fully English numbers resulted in decreased purchasing behavior.
The findings of this experiment align with the research conducted by Professor Boaz Keysar, who has studied the impact of language on decision-making. Professor Keysar’s studies have shown that using a foreign language reduces biases in decision-making and decreases loss aversion. This suggests that the use of a foreign language, such as English in this experiment, provided a greater level of cognitive and emotional distance, resulting in decreased purchasing behavior.