Glossary/Strategy & Frameworks/Decoy Effect
Strategy & Frameworks
Decoy Effect
Joel Huber, John Payne and Christopher Puto's 1982 finding that adding an inferior option shifts preference toward a target option.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
The decoy effect is the tendency for an added, inferior option to shift preference toward a target option. Joel Huber, John Payne and Christopher Puto described it in 1982. In pricing, a deliberately less attractive option can make a nearby target option look like better value, nudging buyers toward it.