As per the article from UX Movement
Place Them in Descending Order
It’s a lot easier for users to move down on pricing than it is for
them to move up. Start them off at the high-end and they won’t be able
to ignore your high pricing plans. Start them off at the low-end and
they’ll likely ignore the higher pricing plans and consider only the
cheaper ones. Order your pricing plans from left to right by most
expensive to least expensive, so that you’ll immediately expose users
to the high pricing plans that they would otherwise ignore. Instead of
only paying attention to the cheaper pricing plans, they’re now forced
to look at all of them without bias.
With regards to why this is recommended, I would recommend looking at this blog post which explains how descending prices help in improving conversion. To quote the post
Anchor Pricing Strategy
Anchor pricing: when we encounter a new product (and new business) we
accept the first price that comes before our eyes and from then on
that price becomes the anchor for what we are willing to pay for that
product.
Ariely found that “once we buy a new product at a particular price,
we become anchored to that price.”
This why the elevator pricing strategy does not work. A common
business practice is to entice new customers with lower prices,
thinking that once customers are on the ground floor, they can be
taken up the price elevator to higher profits. That elevator never
gets off the ground because the customer’s price anchor won’t let the
elevator go up. The anchor pricing strategy is to set the customer’s
anchor at a higher price.
When you first come in contact with a customer, set the anchor high.
Introduce them first to higher priced options. They will judge all
future purchase decisions by that anchor. Later you can give them
lower-price options, which they will judge against the higher price.
This is really important and the point is driven home by Ariely:
“But price tags by themselves are not necessarily anchors. They become anchors when we contemplate buying a product or service at that
particular price. That’s when the imprint is set. From then on, we are
willing to accept a range of prices but as with the pull of a bungee
cord, we always refer back tot he original anchor. Then the first
anchor influences not only the immediate buying decision but many
others that follow.”
The references are picked up from Dan Ariely’s book: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
That said, Here are some additional articles worth checking out :
10 Principles of Effective Pricing Pages
The Decoy Effect in Price Tables
Pricing Tables: Examples And Best Practices
