Do not forget about the price tag! A neuroscientific approach to delve into the influence of colour and price reduction on product perception

Information cues associated with pricing schemes represent a major driver affecting consumer perception. Minor variations of the information set bear a significant influence at the cognitive level directly influencing the consumer’s automatic responses and in turn her behaviour. The present study analysed such reactions to different combinations of colour and price reduction schemes through the consumer neuroscience tools including the analysis of physiological, behavioural, as well as self-reported cognitive responses. An experimental investigation involving 80 subjects in a 2x2 between subject design was set out to compare responses to high-priced and low-priced products associated with a price reduction scheme (relative vs absolute price discount) and coloured price tag (long-wavelenght vs black-coloured). Findings show how the combination of orange and percentage-off price reduction tended to attract the ocular attention for longer time spans and induce higher returning rates. Whereas, reward-related cortical activations showed how black-priced labels affected positively the observer across the two product categories. Furthermore, long-wavelength coloured price tags resulted to elicit higher arousal than black ones. Lastly, self-reported data pointed to a higher perceived positive affect related the low-priced product discounted in relative terms. The discussion focuses on research and managerial implications.