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The Psychology of Discounts and Deals (Motiongraphic) Defining what it takes to get a potential customer to make a purchase is like nailing jello to a wall. Here's some insight into how people perceive and process deals.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Everybody loves a bargain -- it's business, but it's also psychological.

The human ability to count is hardwired into several parts of our brains, according to this motiongraphic from eBay Deals. Even before we are able to count, infants develop expectations for what should be the result of an addition or subtraction equation. When the brain perceives larger quantities, then the specific numbers fade away and infants only understand the proportion between two numbers.

And so it is with customers and their knee jerk reaction to getting a deal. Customers will be further incentivized by larger-percentage discounts.

Learn more about the psychology of discounts in the motiongraphic below.
Catherine Clifford

Frequently covers crowdfunding, the sharing economy and social entrepreneurship.

Catherine Clifford is a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Catherine attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. Email her at CClifford@entrepreneur.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

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