The Anchor Effect

People are often anchored to an initial piece of information.

Featured in 1 UX Bite

Similar psychology:

Hyperbolic Discounting

Likely impacts:

Last updated: 26/09/2026

How to utilise this in your designs

You could anchor the wait to a short, reasonable time (e.g., 10 minutes), then add 5 minutes if it's missed, so users stay rather than face an open-ended wait.

Uber Eats UI shows maps with "Pick-up on Pingle Drive" and "The Lion" locations; status updates "Locating your driver" by 13:56, then "+5" delay, now 14:01, highlighting busier traffic.

Example from

Uber

Try letting users toggle adverts on a webpage on and off during onboarding, so the cluttered page becomes the anchor that makes your added value feel obvious.

Mobile UI shows Out West article on LA Hiking Trails with toggled "Block Ads and Trackers" switch, highlighted in green, blue "Let's go" button, and ads removal illustrated.

Example from

Arc

You could ask users to pick titles they like during onboarding, then anchor the library page around those picks, so its value feels personal rather than generic.

Book selection interface shows 12 book covers; arrow points to "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" in Library tab. Text highlights saving summaries to Library page.

Example from

Headway

Possible impacts

Anchoring users early, e.g., to a short expected wait or a before-and-after comparison, could help hold their attention and interest for longer.

As seen in:

Arc Onboarding Aha! Moment

Anchoring users to a higher original price may make your offer feel like better value, though a low first price anchor could make premium tiers feel like poor value.

As seen in:

Arc Onboarding Aha! Moment

The first price users see may anchor their expectations, which could nudge more users towards a specific product, package or tier that compares favourably.

As seen in:

12Go Seating previews

Airbnb Why not extend your trip?

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Published: 24/08/2023