Study: Male Shoppers Equate Prices Printed in Red With Bargains

The color red has a strange power over our unconscious minds. Recent research suggests it can increase one’s attractiveness, compel teachers to grade papers more harshly, and even prompt people to get vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases.

Now we can add to the list: It can trick men into overpaying for “sale priced” items.

A study in the June issue of the Journal of Retailing reports that, in a series of experiments, “Male consumers perceived greater savings when prices were presented in red than when presented in black.”

Source: Study: Male Shoppers Equate Prices Printed in Red With Bargains