The Price Tag / the small print
where the conditions live
The part of a label that decides it
The headline is six words and the conditions are many more. This page counts the two and puts them against the time each takes to read.
Desk spec
- condition lines
- 1,120
- mean words each
- 34
- headline words
- 6
- condition share
- 85%
- condition read
- 13.6 s
- headline read
- 1.6 s
the printed figureWhat the label names on its face. Across 1,200 sampled labels the headlines averaged 405.00 and summed to 486,000.00.
the reachable figureWhat remains after the conditions are met at the named weighting. Reachable averaged 82.83 and summed to 99,400.00, about 4.9 times less than printed.
the paid figureWhat left the account. Of the 99,400.00 reachable, 61,200.00 was withdrawn, so a label pays 12.6% of the number it names.
Direct answer
A sampled label carries a mean six-word headline and a 34-word band of conditions, so the conditions are about 85% of the words on the offer. A headline is read in about 1.6 seconds and the conditions in about 13.6, which is why the part that decides the reachable figure is the part read last.
The two reading times
| part | mean words | share of words | read at 250 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| headline | 6 | 15% | 1.6 s |
| conditions | 34 | 85% | 13.6 s |
| so 85% of the label sits in the part read second | 15.2 s | ||
a 40-word label read in full
headline 6 words 1.6 s
conditions 34 words 13.6 s
full label 15.2 s
the price of skipping the 34 words:
the headline names 405.00
the reachable figure is 82.83
so skipping 13.6 s moves the number by 322.17
21.7 per second of reading time
The desk does not argue that small print is dishonest. It measures the weight of it, because the weight is what decides whether a reader sees the reachable figure before acting.