Figure 12 Sept 2026From “What is willingness to pay?”

The willingness-to-pay measurement fidelity matrix

Compare measurement mechanisms across behavioral fidelity, hypothetical bias, operational complexity, and decision validity.

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Figure 1The willingness-to-pay measurement fidelity matrix

Methodology	Behavioral mechanism	Cost & complexity	Hypothetical bias	Primary strategic utility
Direct Open-Ended Surveys	Self-reported maximum price point ("What would you pay?")	Low cost; rapid execution	High; stated intent overstates purchase, and no source held here gives a general rate	Exploratory boundary screening for completely novel concepts
Van Westendorp (PSM)	Four-question psychological price map (cheap vs too expensive)	Moderate cost; standardized format	Moderate; identifies perceptual range, not transaction points	Mapping psychological price corridors and sticker-shock thresholds
Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC)	Trade-off choices across simulated multi-attribute bundles	High cost; requires experimental design	Controlled; decomposes part-worth utilities across features	Packaging, feature tiering, and willingness to trade off specific attributes
Incentive-Aligned BDM Lotteries	Becker-DeGroot-Marschak auction where stated bids trigger real binding purchases	High complexity; requires real transaction setup	Zero hypothetical bias; reflects real cash commitments	Precision testing of consumer reservation prices in experimental settings
In-Market A/B Cohort Testing	Live commercial transaction observations on separated customer cohorts	Moderate-high; requires operational governance	Zero bias; observes real conversions under market frictions	Final price validation before company-wide list price deployment

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Source: Author's pricing research framework grounded in empirical methodology comparisons and behavioral choice literature from Anderson and Simester (2003), Kloss and Kunter (2016), Kuijken et al. (2017), and Simonson and Tversky (1992).

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B ST92-C1 Tradeoff contrast, in the authors' words: "the tendency to prefer an alternative is enhanced or hindered depending on whether the tradeoffs within the set under" consideration are favourable or unfavourable to that option. Checked against the PDF, because the extract warns that it mangles hyphenationsimonson-tversky-1992-choice-in-context

Grades: A, verified against the printed page of the primary source · B, primary source, text layer only · C, authoritative secondary · D, reported.

From the essay

Pricing & revenue architecture

What is willingness to pay?

Willingness to pay measures the maximum monetary sacrifice a buyer will exchange for an offering, bounding pricing power, surplus, and conversion.

2 Sept 2026

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Isoglu, S. (2026). The willingness-to-pay measurement fidelity matrix [Figure]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-willingness-to-pay-fig01/

BibTeX

@misc{isoglu-2026-what-is-willingness-to-pay-fig01,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{The willingness-to-pay measurement fidelity matrix}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Figure 1, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-willingness-to-pay-fig01/},
  note = {From the essay {What is willingness to pay?}}
}

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  <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-willingness-to-pay-fig01/">
    <img src="https://isoglu.com/social/isoglu-2026-what-is-willingness-to-pay-fig01.png" alt="Figure 1: The willingness-to-pay measurement fidelity matrix" width="3200" height="2400">
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  <figcaption>Figure 1: The willingness-to-pay measurement fidelity matrix. Source: Author&#39;s pricing research framework grounded in empirical methodology comparisons and behavioral choice literature from Anderson and Simester (2003), Kloss and Kunter (2016), Kuijken et al. (2017), and Simonson and Tversky (1992). <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-willingness-to-pay-fig01/">View exhibit</a>.</figcaption>
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