There's some good news on the retail front: this year, customers are connecting with colors. Some shoppers are buying products simply because of the hue—or, even more amazingly, buying items they already own simply to acquire the new shade.
According to USA Today, shoppers are paying more attention to hue than ever before—and color is influencing their purchases at unprecedented levels. Now that everything from electronics to appliances comes in multiple shades, consumers want colorful stuff more than ever.
"Color is the one area where consumers are saying, 'I'm going to indulge,' " says Marshal Cohen of the NPD Group. Cohen's top suggestion for retailers this season was to expand their color selection. "When you add color to a product," he says, "you stimulate the consumer's awareness that the version they already have is obsolete."
That's because shoppers are looking for a personal connection to a product, which can be even more important in times of economic vulnerability.
Companies are finding, too, that adding color to a product allows it to charge a premium. Computer manufacturer Dell, for instance, sells brightly colored notebook computers for up to $75 more than the gray and black models, and its new Inspiron Mini offers bright graphic patterns in pink and red that sell for about $25 more than the plain versions.
Such consumer color devotion is a key element in iPod sales. Apple officials declined to comment, but NPD's Cohen says he's spoken with plenty of adult iPod owners who bought new iPods specifically to get a new color. "This boggles the mind," he says.
However, it isn't color alone that compels customers to buy: it's new colors. Are your best-selling vibrators being offered in new shades? Stock up. "Our retailers are hurting, and the consumer is looking for a reason to purchase," says Rich Brinkman, the sales and marketing executive with Homer Laughlin China.
Motorola's Kitty Suidman, the company's senior manager for color and trend forecasting, agrees. "Color broadens the reach of products," especially in a tough economy, she says. "If you introduce a second color, the reach increases significantly."
Source: USA Today
