“Heuristics” are the mental shortcuts human beings take when processing information and making decisions. Marketing teams are fully aware of how to use heuristics to simplify complex and difficult questions as they are fast and accurate ways to understand and influence behaviours.

Brands use the anchoring and adjustment heuristic to strategically set a product's price point. For example, an electronic retailer in Denmark lists a television at a higher price than its fair value, and the potential buyer will use that price as an indicator that they have received a bargain when purchasing the TV at the “sale” price.