“Lucky” numbers, unlucky consumers

Superstitious beliefs affect economic activity and may have noticeable economic impacts. In China, numbers often convey certain superstitious meanings. Retailers in China manipulate digital patterns on price tags to fit consumers’ superstitious preferences. In this paper, I analyze such superstitious manipulations using a large sample of price tags from Beijing, China. I also estimate the aggregate economic impacts of superstitious manipulations of retail price tags. The analytical results and the estimations presented in this paper suggest that Chinese consumers pay extra for their superstitious beliefs when they purchase goods. Retailers are the clear winners in superstitious manipulations of digital patterns in price tags.