As for pricing, this happens elsewhere than America too, at least here in the eurozone it is very common too. There’s an article about it here which may or may not explain this to your satisfaction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing
As for 9 out of 10 doctors: our numeral system is based on 10 (because we have 10 fingers), so 10 is a number people can easily grasp, so to speak…
As for pricing, this happens elsewhere than America too, at least here in the eurozone it is very common too. There’s an article about it here which may or may not explain this to your satisfaction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing
As for 9 out of 10 doctors: our numeral system is based on 10 (because we have 10 fingers), so 10 is a number people can easily grasp, so to speak…
I was sceptical about psychological pricing until I worked at a call centre and had this conversation multiple times a week.
Caller: Why is my bill £10 higher this month?
Me: I see you made a £2 call to a premium rate number.
Caller: That’s only £2.
Me: Yes, your bill is normally £19.99 a month. Add on the £2 and you get £21.99, which is what you paid this month.
Caller: (notices the other digits) Oh, so it is.
It really hurts to hear people can be this stupid. Not that I didn’t know. Just… Still, ya know.