If you are a smart shopper, it is not that easy to persuade you to actually buy something. There is the science behind how the products are organized, labels are written and sections are ordered to guide you through to making a purchase. That’s a wealth of tricks based on psychological theories and practices that in the end “convert” you from a regular visitor into the buyer.
One of the most powerful methods to appeal to a potential buyer is applying color theory to (e)commerce. Has it ever occurred to you why you feel safer in one store and more energetic in another one? Have you ever noticed that landing on some web page you feel like clicking some button/link and keep browsing the site? While other pages prompt you to stay and keep reading? To some extent, this might be the choice of colors for the page elements.
Color is believed to be one of the most powerful elements of design for web sites, direct mail, ads, and other marketing materials. It carries meaning through associations and/or your body physical response. Color associates can vary from country to country but in Western culture they are basically the same.
So don’t let (online) sellers affect your decision by showing you what you want to see. Let’s see how color choice may affect your shopping behavior and habits – for you to be able to buy with a cool head.
A regular shopper in North America is likely to respond to color choice the following way:
| GROUP | COLOR | HOW IT MAKES YOU FEEL | WHY IT INFLUENCES YOU | WHERE YOU ARE LIKELY TO SEE IT |
| warm (exciting) | Red | Energetic, hungry | It activates your pituitary gland and increases your heart rate | Logos and calls to action |
| Orange | Enthusiastic, cheerful | It is a combination of aggressive red and cheerful yellow | Calls to action (subscribe, buy, etc) | |
| cool (calming) | Blue | Secure and trustworthy | It is associated with sky (therefore universally liked) | Money and business related websites (banks, loans, etc) |
| Green | Stable, wealthy (deep green) | It is the easiest color for the eyes | Testimonials, founder’s story, etc. Finance related websites (e.g. Forex related) | |
| Calm (light green) | It is associated with spring and nature | Entertainment and leisure related websites |
(based on my other table on color branding)
As can seen from the above table, red and orange colors are most often used to encourage your action, i.e. to prompt you to buy something or subscribe to the newsletter (and become the customer later on).
Green and blue, on the other hand, are “supporting colors” that make you feel secure and safe thus entrust the seller with your money.
See how much Amazon.com wants to talk you into buying something using dark and light orange color:
It is also believed that color affects shopping habits. Look how different shoppers may respond to various colors:
| COLOR | WHO RESPONDS BEST |
| Red | Impulse shoppers |
| Orange | |
| Black | |
| Blure | Budget shoppers |
| Pink | |
| Sky blue | Traditionalists |
| Rose |
Another way to appeal to your eye is to choose colors on occasion. Many e-shops change design from season to season to make you feel more at home. You’ll see more red/orange designs in autumn, blue/white – in winter and green websites in spring.
Besides, it is a frequently-used trick to change colors depending on the approaching holidays: green and red combination is associated with Christmas (as they symbolize Christmas tree and Santa Clause); red is often used on St Valentine’s day (as that’s the color of heart and love), orange is associated with Halloween because pumpkins are a big part of that holiday (of course, all the aforementioned associations may vary from country to country).
So on visiting a website or store on a holiday and seeing familiar colors, you are more likely to stay as you feel comfortable.
Image by Pink Sherbet Photography
View Comments
Great article - we've been using these basic theories when designing for clients for some time, and the reason is: they work!
Keep up the great work!
Colour (pardon English/Aussie spelling) is a huge influencer for me. I can spend hours seeking an exact, right "shade" or combo. I wonder if any studies have been done on the impact on say, intuitives vs. sensing preferences? (Using MBTI terminology here, but you will know what I mean & the NEO also applies. Also, I am thinking of those with very clear preferences only in this concept.)
I believe there would be distinct trends shown. My potentially useless hypothesis (totally unresearched and made up at this second) is that sensing preferences would be receptive to stronger, bolder blocks of colour, whereas intuitives may prefer blends, subtle shading, or variations that provide a unique effect and stimulate their connectivity and reframing of "stuff" tendencies.
Ah, a totally off track, non-productive mind-meandering for me in Melbourne at 7.12 am to start my day of "strictly sticking to business". sigh. You just must stop writing such engaging posts!!! "-)
LOL, Karen, I am sorry but I will do my best to keep writing engaging posts :) Stay tuned!
It would be nice to see the scholarly research behind this. I looked on the referenced links and they didn't cite academic or refereed sources.
And for the record David, bars, etc use red lighting for other reasons - mostly because you can see the most detail with the lowest level of luminance given the wave frequency (e.g. we are more optically sensitive to it).
Very interesting post.
As a consumer researcher and marketing academic, I am a wholehearted believer in the effects of colour. However, when it comes to evidence, although marketers have been citing the importance of colour for decades (see Eric Danger's book "Using Colour To Sell" published in the UK in 1968), there is actually relatively little academic work on this, and it's patchy.
Probably the most comprehenive work in the marketing / consumer behaviour literature is the literature review by Garber of the effect of package colour on consumer behaviour published as a Marketing Science Institute Working Paper (sorry, don't have the reference with me at present).
While the world of graphic and package design and corporate identity is full of asserted wisdom about the effects of colour, little or none of it is backed by empirical evidence.
Perhaps the real test of this has come in the trade marks system and the Courts. In Australia, numerous marketers have failed in their attempts to have colours registered as trade marks (eg. Cadbury and purple, BP and green, 3M Post-Its and yellow), at least in part because it is so difficult to establish the effects of colour on consumers - independent of other branding and marketing factors such as brand name, shape and product form - even in tightly controlled research.
The true believers (and I'm one of them) will keep using colour - but we should all be aware that we can't necessarily count on being protected if someone else decides to use the same colours.
Thanks for useful info, this help me much in the next update of my shop!
hi, yes i also agree it is a nice post; however as @justin says: " It would be nice to see the scholarly research behind this. I looked on the referenced links and they didn’t cite academic or refereed sources." that's exactly what I meant. if you have tham/some I'd be really interested. thanks in advance, gd
Well i feel it differs with the work/business you are in to.In case of restaurants use red table cloths and accessories so that people dont spent longer time. While using light shades of blue green and even white too, which makes customers sit for long, In turn reducing the sales.
But coming to websites it goes just different.
"One of the most powerful methods to appeal to a potential buyer is applying color theory to (e)commerce". Keeping colours consistent throughout your printed advertising, web site, marketing emails and social media networks is also a great way to promote your brand.
-Phil
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.