The Psychology of Colour in Retail Store Design
The colours you choose to apply to your retail store design are vital in maximising sales and entice a customer. Choose the right ones and you will see profit margins increase, choose the wrong ones and you might not be too happy with the end result.
Colours are powerful factors in retail store design so understanding the psychology behind them and following the necessary steps are important for success. According to a study conducted by the Journal of Business Management, colour accounts for 85% of the reason why a potential customer will buy a product or not.
The Relationship Between Colour & Marketing
Research conducted by the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo 2004 which explored the relationship between colour and marketing further emphasises the importance of colour in retail store design.
The study’s main findings were that:
- 92.6% of those surveyed said that visual factors ranked the highest influencer in deciding to buy a product.
- The physical feel via the sense of touch accounted for only 5.6% of the ultimate deciding factor in purchasing a product, while hearing and smell amounted to 0.9% each.
- When asked to approximate the importance of color when buying products, 84.7 percent of the total respondents think that color accounts for more than half among the various factors important for choosing products.
- Research revealed that people make subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.
Colours And Their Psychological Influence On The Consumer
We now know that colours are important in retail store design but what are the colours that have the most impact on customer behaviour and psychological influence?
The keywords here are emotions and associations. Different colours evoke within us different emotions and bring different pictures to mind. Red is associated with danger and urgency, influencing consumers to act faster, while also being used to attract attention to a specific product or offer.
Blue is associated with a sense of ease and calm. It can reinforce customer loyalty and give customers the sense that they can reflect and take their time while shopping. Yellow is associated with happiness and can uplift your customers, increasing their optimism.
“Color can produce certain autonomic biological reactions, create certain emotional responses, and obtain attention. Retailers have traditionally used color to project an image or to create a desired atmosphere. Following general guidelines that have resulted from psychological research, researchers have attempted to use colors that put customers in a buying mood.” (Journal of Retailing, 1983)
Colour also engages and increases participation with a product or product sign. You want to choose the right colours to draw a customer in and influence engagement.
Target Market in Retail Store Design
Knowing your target market is everything when it comes to choosing the specific colours for your retail store design. One has to consider that different colours have different impacts on types of shoppers and genders. What types of customers are you trying to attract to your store? Do you want impulse shoppers? Is your target market Millenials or older?
Younger shoppers are drawn more to bold colours, children for example are drawn to bright colours and older shoppers are drawn to more subtle colours.
Red-orange, black and royal blue attract impulse buyers, while navy blue and teal attract budget shoppers. Pink, rose and sky blue generate a greater response from traditional buyers. Then there’s colours as part of your retail store design which appeal to men or women as depicted below:
At Storebest Shopfitting Co. we understand the significance of implementing the right colours into your retail store design to meet your target audience. We have over 35 years of providing expert shopfitting services to renowned businesses like Vodafone and Home Store + More. Rest assured we can do the same for you. Call us on 01 5394612 or email info@storebest.ie today.