Stores often price items at $2.99 instead of $3.00. Researchers think the reason lies in how we read numbers.
We take in digits from left to right, so shoppers may focus on the first one. This left-digit effect can make a price just under $3 feel closer to $2.
In experiments with pens, $2.99 seemed lower than $3.00. But $3.59 seemed no lower than $3.60, because the first digit stayed the same.