Promotions in italics are more effective

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📝 Intro

You’re finalizing your creatives for your Black Friday campaign - your team is currently torn over what seems like the smallest of changes to your copy.

Should you write “Flat 40% off! We’re open from midnight until stocks run out!” or “Flat 40% off! We’re open from midnight until stocks run out!”

The Science Says, that this seemingly small decision - using an italics font or not, could make a big difference in your sales.

P.S.: This is different from using handwritten-looking fonts on your product packaging or ad copy. Such fonts are excellent for making your product feel more human.

Want hundreds more insights like these? Explore all Science Says insights here.

Promotions that use slanted italic fonts increase purchase intentions

Topics: Ads | Promotions
For: B2B. Can be tested for B2C
Research date: February 2020
Universities: University of West Florida, Salisbury University, Stephen F. Austin State University. 

📈 Recommendation

Use italic fonts (vs regular fonts), which are slanted and ‘lean to the right’ when advertising special promotions (e.g. discounts, package deals). 

Try to slant them even more to the right (up to 35°) than regular italic font slanting (which is usually 12-16° depending on the font), to maximize the effect.

This makes people more attracted to your promotions, increasing the likelihood of sales, store visits, and ad clicks.

🎓 Findings

• People perceive promotions written in italics as finishing sooner, making them more willing to visit a store or click an ad, and ultimately buy.

• As part of a series of 7 experiments with 2,026 participants, researchers found that when italics (vs a regular, non-slanted font) were used:

  • 3 times more people clicked an email link for a “Buy a $5 gift card for $4” promotion from Starbucks (they were also 2.6 times more likely to buy the gift card, but this sample was small and not statistically significant)

  • People said they were 12.9% more likely to visit and 30.7%  more likely to buy from a Mexican restaurant offering a “Buy One Entree Get One Free” deal

  • “Hurry, this deal won’t last!” was considered 27.4% more active and urgent

  • People were 41.6% more likely to feel they had less time to act on an Amazon gift card promotion for “Buy a $50 gift card & $ Get $10 credit”

• The effect disappears:

  • Amongst people who aren’t as sensitive to deals, because they aren’t worried about regretting a missed promotion

  • If the text isn’t about a specific promotion (e.g. Stop by for your winter shopping!)

  • If the italicization slants the letters backward (towards the left) instead of the regular right-slanting italics

🧠 Why it works

• We process text in terms of the words themselves, as well as the image of how the words are shown. This makes us react to the same text differently if it’s italicized, in uppercase, or in an elongated font (which makes the text seem more elegant).

• Italic fonts are usually slanted rightwards, implying forward movement. We subconsciously link this movement to moving in time.

• Since we’re more conscious of promotion in italics moving towards its end time, it feels shorter-lived, making us act to ensure we don’t miss out.

• Different people have different levels of sensitivity to deals - some of us are more likely to consider deals as we fear missing out on a promotion and having to pay a higher price later, while some of us are less affected, regardless of the font type.

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✋ Limitations

• In these experiments, researchers slanted text to 35° degrees whereas commonly used italic fonts (e.g. Arial, Times New Roman) only slant 12 to 16 degrees. This means that the effect might be weaker when using regular italics.

• The study exclusively tested ads in English viewed by US audiences. However, it likely can be applied to all languages that have italic forms. Some languages (e.g. Korean), don’t have an italic form.

• The research mostly looked at people’s intentions to visit a store or make a purchase - actual purchase behavior was only tested in one study, with a small student sample.

• The study only used two fonts for their experiments - the very popular Times New Roman and Arial. With other fonts that are less ever-present, a strong italicization might impact readability, making ads less effective.

• The research looked at promotions specifically, though other research has also shown that logos that evoke forward movement can lead to better brand attitudes and market success. It wasn’t tested, but this effect may extend beyond promotions to brand names or mottos written in italics as well.

🏢 Companies using this

• Companies across industries try to make their promotions stand out, by using either italics, bright-colored text, or bold, loud fonts. It’s unclear whether italics is used intentionally because it creates a sense of urgency, or just to attract attention.

  • Some companies also opt for flashing, dynamic ads on their website, though this may be more distracting than effective.

• Companies using italics for their promotions include large retailers like Macy's travel sites like Expedia to cosmetics brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills.

Old Navy correctly advertises its spring promotions using italic fonts.

⚡ Steps to implement

• Use italic fonts when advertising promotions (e.g. sales, package or bundle deals, buy 1 get 1 free deals, and other promotions) to make people feel the promotion is short-lived.

  • Be careful with this - other research shows time-limited promotions aren’t as effective online as at physical stores, and should be justified (e.g. a 24-hour sale to mark your company’s anniversary). People who miss out on a promotion with limited stock (e.g. only 5 pieces left) can also get angry and switch to a competitor.

• Putting your promotion prices in red is also effective for male audiences - it makes the price seem more reasonable to them.

• Using italic fonts is particularly effective for people who are more sensitive to deals. For example, customers who’ve regularly availed of your past promotions can be targeted with an email campaign ahead of a new promotion.

• While italics can help people feel more urgency around a promotion, don’t go overboard - ads that are too dynamic (e.g. countdown timers or bouncing banners) distract customers and hurt sales.

🔍 Study type

Lab and online experiments and field experiment (email promotion to students offering “Buy a $5 gift card for $4” and measuring CTR and sales)

📖 Research

Dynamic Right-Slanted Fonts Increase the Effectiveness of Promotional Retail Advertising. Journal of Retailing (February 2020).

🏫 Researchers

• James Mead. University of West Florida

• Rob Richerson. Salisbury University.

• Wenjing Li. Stephen F. Austin State University. 

Remember: This is a scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s how science works). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely.

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