New Study Demonstrates the Importance of Label Color During Purchase Process

If there was any doubt about the affect labels can have upon the consumer’s buying habits, the most recent study in the journal Health Communication puts any of those doubts to rest. Jonathon Schuldt, assistant professor of communication and director of Cornell’s Social Cognition and Communication Lab, asked 93 university students to imagine they were hungry and see a candy bar while they were waiting in line at the grocery store. This is a relatively familiar scenario and one all of us have experienced at some point or another.

The students were shown an image of a candy bar with a red or green label. When asked which candy bar they perceived as having fewer calories, students selected the candy with the green label as being healthier. Schuldt then repeated the experiment with 39 online participants who were shown candy with white or green labels. Those participants were asked what to what extent healthiness affected their buying decision. The more importance the participants placed on healthy eating, the more they believed the candy with the white label was less healthy, when in reality, both candy bars had the same number of calories.

While you may not sell candy bars, or even food, this study very confirms the importance labels play in the purchasing process and just how important it is to select the right color and design for your labels – both on the back and front of your product.

If you have a new product or are considering redesigning your labels, spend extra time doing market research and testing what consumers are drawn to. Identify your target market and select colors appropriately. Work with a graphic artist to produce a design that will appeal to your target market and, if possible, test the response you get from an unbiased audience.

While the extra time and money may seem overkill for something as small and insignificant as custom labels, this new study proves just how influential this seemingly inconsequential item has on the purchase process. Even a small change, such as label color, can make a big difference and significantly increase sales.