When tipping pages load, the Default Value is in the middle, with Higher and Lower buttons on either side.
Until now, we determined which values should be shown on those buttons by multiplying or dividing the middle value by 1.6:
We chose this relationship because it’s close to the Golden Ratio (1.618…). We hoped that such a ‘natural’ relationship would make tippers feel more welcome to tip what they like—unlike cash tips, which depend on what coins and notes someone happens to be carrying when they walk past you.
Many circle shows use round numbers in their hat lines. For example:
“Five dollars will make me happy, ten dollars will make my day, and if you give me twenty dollars I’ll come home with you and make your night”.
In economics, this is called ‘anchoring’: giving the audience reference points which they’ll think about when tipping.
Last summer we tested the impact of switching the buttons to ’round’ numbers (i.e. numbers commonly used by buskers). You can see that in action here:
The test took place at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the results were inconclusive. It seemed that some buskers earned more money this way, and others didn’t.
However, buskers who used round numbers in their hat lines requested that the numbers on their tipping pages matched the numbers they said, and so we made the switch.
That’s it. That’s the change in a nutshell.
Nick