Color Psychology in Retail

Whatever your budget or store size, one element that all retailers can implement is a smart use of color to create consistent branding and influence customers. Since we are attuned to colors for cues since birth, using color to your advantage in displays, lighting, and more can lead to more sales at the end of the day. Using colors doesn't necessarily mean you have to design a palette that makes everything beautiful, just one that brings coherence to disparate elements of your store. As mentioned, because we look to color for cues, we learn to react to it instinctively. When you see the color red, what do you think? Stop? Danger? Caution? Passion? Anger? Amore? Because we often have a non-conscious reaction to color, using it to influence the shopping process can help you lead customers to favorable opinions of your products. Humans are visual creatures by nature. Our sense of vision accounts for about 80% of the information we receive in a typical day. Therefore, we store a tremendous amount of visual information in our brains. This comes in handy when encountering new stimuli, so we can compare it to things we have already seen and make associations. It is this type of behavior that helps keep us alive. It also helps soothe us in times of distress and motivate us to achieve certain results. Children, because they are still forming color associations, tend react most to bright, primary colors. That is why these colors are the ones used most of often children's books and toys. You can also see this color palette in countless children's retail stores. It's this color psychology that moves paint manufacturers and retailers to carrying color cards and brochures that tout the therapeutic effects of certain colors and palettes. Some have even gone so far as to offer "color therapy" lines. While instinctual responses to color stimuli occur across all cultures, the associations made with certain colors can vary greatly. Case in point, while white is often a color of elegance in the West, it is the color of death in China. Purple is the color of death in Brazil. While yellow is a sacred color in China, it is associated with jealousy in France and sorrow in Greece. Even climates can affect color associations. Those warmer environments lean toward warm colors (reds, yellows, oranges), while those in cooler climates gravitate towards cool colors (blues, greens, purples). When it comes to implementing colors into your retail space, you'll want to make sure you are aligning your colors with your products, environment, and culture so as to ensure your customers are responding in the way that gets them closer to a purchase. This means considering the demographics of your target audience. Are they teenagers, 30-somethings, or seniors. It matters. As mentioned, younger people tend to prefer brighter, bolder colors, whereas older consumers lean toward more subtle, muted color palettes. Finding the balance between the brand and the consumer requires some time, but is often time very well spent. When you miss the color mark, you run the risk of seeming unrelatable to your customers at subliminal level. It's not just consumer good retailing that can successfully implement color associations. We see it all the time in food retail. Fast food chains lean heavily on reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. Take a moment to think of famous fast food brand logos. Lots of those colors, right? These types of colors enforce a sense of urgency. It reiterates that the food is coming fast. Subtly, it also prompts us to eat now and leave. This is ideal for an owner who is trying to process as many customers as possible in a day. Luxury brands, like those normally afforded by older clientele, lean toward softer, more inviting color. This encourages customers to relax, stay a little longer, order another drink or dessert. In essence, it places the focus of dining out on creating a pleasant experience to create returning customers who spend more freely. You know what they say about first impressions and how important they are. Well, your store has a critical area for creating first impressions. It's call the compression zone (or transition zone). It's that first space customers reach once they step in the doors. This zone can influence customer moods and subtly pull them in a direction you would like them to go. Try using colors in displays here that invoke desired responses. You can even try using a targeted color of carpeting or other flooring. When you know how color exerts influence in all aspects of our lives, you can use it as a communication tool that reinforces your location's relationship with your target audience in the very consistent ways. Remember, though, that this is about them . You need to remain object when choosing colors and not just go with a color palette because you like it. This is an instance where it pays (literally) to get out of your own way. Finally, good color choices can influence future decisions, from marketing, to direct mail, to merchandising and displays. Do your homework. Choose wisely. Build relationships.