Some retailers in Canada use the two penny/cent digits as a code. I.e. Something like.99 is regular price,.77 is manager's special,.88 is corporate sale.
This happens in the US as well from what I understand and I always found it an interesting testament to margin size of the product when you're selling something at a mass scald and can afford shaving 10 or 20 cents off the product price point, overloading the value to codify it internally.
Seems like there are cheaper ways, but maybe the price cuts back on secondary labeling or sell association, ultimately saveing personnel time, which ultimately costs less than those expenses.
