Probably a useful article for a student assignment on the rhetoric of retail: "How Stores are Secretly Using Barry Manilow to Rob You." Retail space is (as you might suspect) an extremely well-researched environment (both inside and out). When I was an undergrad working at a local party store, I used to read the trade magazines about aisle construction and end-cap configuration. And, like nearly everyone, all that canny knowledge goes out of my head whenever I go into a grocery store without a shopping list having skipped breakfast or lunch.
Who hasn't struggled at home to scrub that disgusting cake of wax off of supermarket cucumbers? In addition to extending their shelf life, that wax makes cukes appear a more vibrant green in the produce section. Meanwhile, Red Delicious apples tend to be among the blandest tasting apple variety, but they're still the most popular variety due largely to their bright and pretty red color. Many studies have confirmed that people are drawn to and buy more of vibrantly colored products (of any sort). There is of course an entire science to product packaging that is focused in large part on colors, but even the color of dairy products and meats are "enhanced" through chemical or genetic means because of this color rule.
Beyond the colors of products, extensive testing has also been done on the colors of the walls, floors, fixtures and virtually every other surface inside of chain store to determine which is most "effective." Supermarket store floors are typically kept super-shiny white, for example, because it promotes greater sales -- likely because at a subconscious level people associate it with cleanliness, freshness, and purity.
[via metafilter.com]
Posted by johndanseven at July 21, 2006 11:55 PM | TrackBack