Choices and persuasion
Centre-stage effect
Also called Center-stage effect
When options are lined up side by side, people tend to pick the one in the middle, assuming it's the most popular or the safest.
People read the middle of a row as the standard choice. It feels like the safe compromise between too little and too much.
Pricing pages lean on it by putting the plan they want most people on in the middle. Fine, if it's the right plan for most people.
In practice
Three plans laid out with the middle one marked 'most popular' tend to draw most sign-ups to that middle plan.
Common mistake
Putting a plan centre stage that suits the business rather than the customer. People notice when they've paid for more than they need.
Where it comes from
Described by Ana Valenzuela and Priya Raghubir in 2009, from experiments on how people choose among products on shelves.