Drip Pricing
Australian Business & ComplianceAlso: Partitioned pricing
Quick definition
Drip pricing is showing a low headline price and then adding unavoidable fees and charges as the customer moves through the booking or checkout. In Australia it can breach consumer law when the extra costs are not disclosed up front, and it reliably damages trust and conversion even when it stays within the rules.
How it varies across Australia
Drip pricing wins the click and loses the customer. The low headline lifts top-of-funnel interest, then abandonment spikes at the moment the real total appears. Brands that show the all-in price earlier convert a smaller click into a far more reliable sale.
See how checkout and conversion vary across Australian industries →What it actually means
Drip pricing is a pricing display tactic. You advertise a low headline price, then reveal additional unavoidable charges one at a time as the customer progresses, so the real total only appears near the end. Think a flight fare that climbs through booking fees, card surcharges and seat costs, or an event ticket that grows through service charges.
In Australia this is a consumer law problem when the added costs are not disclosed clearly and up front. If a fee is unavoidable, it is part of the price, and burying it can mislead the customer about what they will actually pay. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken action against well-known brands for exactly this.
Even where a specific implementation stays legal, drip pricing is bad marketing. It is engineered to get commitment before the real number lands, betting that sunk effort will carry the customer through the surprise. Sometimes it does. More often it spikes abandonment at the worst possible moment and teaches the customer that your prices cannot be trusted.
Drip pricing buys the click with a number the customer never actually gets to pay.
How it shows up
Drip pricing shows up as strong top-of-funnel interest followed by a sharp abandonment spike at the fee-reveal step. In funnel analytics it looks like a healthy click rate hiding a leaky checkout. The fix is to surface every unavoidable cost as early as possible and watch where the drop-off moves.
The Australian context
Australian Consumer Law requires that where a total price can be calculated, it is shown as a single figure, and unavoidable fees disclosed up front. This is stricter than markets where add-on fees at checkout are routine. An overseas booking flow that drips fees as standard practice can breach the Australian rules, so imported checkout patterns need an Australian review before they go live.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
What is drip pricing?
Advertising a low headline price then adding unavoidable fees as the customer moves through checkout or booking, so the real total only appears late. Common in flights and event tickets through booking fees, surcharges and service charges.
Is drip pricing illegal in Australia?
It can breach Australian Consumer Law when unavoidable costs are not disclosed clearly and up front, because that can mislead customers about the real price. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has acted against major brands for it.
Why is drip pricing bad for conversion?
The low headline lifts clicks but abandonment spikes the moment the true total appears. You win curious clicks and lose them at the worst point in the funnel, while teaching the customer your prices cannot be trusted.
How do I avoid drip pricing?
Show the total, all-in price as early as possible and disclose every unavoidable fee up front. Where a total price can be calculated, Australian Consumer Law expects it shown as a single figure.
About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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