Red Tag Sale

I noticed something interesting while shopping at Safeway supermarket last fall: the sale tags had changed color. Instead of the usual yellow, the tags are now the "Safeway red"—the same color as the logo.

This probably sounds like a very minor detail, one which few would notice. Consider this, though: Safeway just posted a sales increase of $19 million from the Q1 of last year. Now, I'm not saying the new red tags are the direct cause of this revenue boom, but this is what I know.

Deep hues of red elicit excitement and arousal in shoppers.* Where do you think the term "red tag sale" comes from? I know that when I looked down the aisles and saw all those bright red tags, my first thought was, "Alright! Look at all the clearance prices!" I quickly realized that these weren't clearance items, rather they were normal sale prices (or regular prices, if you're anti-club card.... but that's another article). If someone aware of this phenomena can be tricked by it, imagine the effects on people who don't even give it a second thought.

Adjustments to your color scheme aren't always going to whip your customers into a frenzy, but it is an interesting commentary on the effect of small details. Smart and careful alteration of your brand and marketing presentation can have strong overall results; do your homework, see what you can change, and experiment to figure out the details that work for you.

*http://www.jstor.org/stable/2634413