Color Psychology in Marketing:
Unveiling the Impact of Color on Consumer Behavior and Brand Perception
Abstract
This paper aims to investigate the role of color in marketing and consumer behavior by focusing on three key areas: brand logos, product packaging, and consumers’ shopping experiences. As color is one of the most prominent visual cues essential in sensory marketing, previous research has delved into its application in the marketing field. A comprehensive review of prior studies illustrates that colors evoke psychological associations that shape the overall satisfaction of the shopping experience, influence product appeal and brand image, and ultimately affect product purchase. This study thus emphasizes the significance of color in optimizing customer experience and suggests future research on the implications of customer age in sensory marketing, the interplay between color and other sensory inputs, as well as the effects of color based on consumers’ varying involvement levels.
Introduction
Increased exposure to media and the development of technology has rendered sensory marketing, “marketing that engages consumers’ senses and affects their perception, judgment, and behavior,” an effective tool for marketers (Krishna, 2012, p. 333). One of the most widely studied sensory inputs for marketing is visual cues, namely colors, as early psychological research indicates that color activates certain concepts and ideas that shape people’s behaviors and psychological associations they form with objects.
In the realm of marketing, various companies are effectively utilizing color to express their identity because color is one of the most important elements of branding that shapes customer perceptions and behaviors (Labrecque & Milne, 2012). For instance, different brands utilize color to differentiate themselves from other brands and portray a certain personality: Verizon uses red, T-Mobile uses pink, and AT&T uses blue as their primary brand color.
Furthermore, the use of color in marketing is not restricted to branding: color is widely used to enhance product packaging and shape the shopping experience itself. Product color is often used to enhance product appeal, delineate product categories, and signal the benefits of the products (Scott & Vargas, 2007; Doyle & Bottomley, 2006). Furthermore, digital and physical retail environments can utilize color to shape customer mood, perceived shopping time, and eventually, purchase intentions (Bellizzi & Hite, 1992; Crowley, 1993).
Therefore, this paper delves into the multifaceted impact of color in branding, product packaging, and shaping customers’ shopping experience. Through a close scrutiny of research in this field, this paper aims to highlight how color can become a powerful tool for companies to elevate product perception, enhance the shopping experience, and foster a deeper connection with consumers.
The Role of Color in Brand Logos
Psychological research on color and the different associations it evokes laid the foundation for studies regarding the marketing implications of color. According to McClelland (1998), our memory consists of a web of nodes and links: the nodes symbolize ideas or concepts and the links serve as the pathways that connect the nodes. When an external stimulus triggers one of the nodes, other nodes connected to the triggered node through links are also activated, creating an association between the two nodes (McClelland, 1988). For instance, the sight of “fire” would activate the corresponding node and also stimulate the connected node “danger”, leading an individual to avoid the fire. The links may be strengthened and updated by repetitive associations formed by external feedback and stimuli (Janiszewski & Van Osselaer, 2000).
This network of memory is used to explore the associations between various psychological traits and colors. Early studies that delved into color symbolism indicate color serves as an external stimulus that activates other nodes representing ideals or even personality traits. For instance, the color black evokes feelings of power, sophistication, and death; red is associated with love and passion; and blue is linked with trust (Jacob et al., 1991). A comprehensive list of the psychological implications of color is presented in Table 1. More recent studies in color psychology have divided color into two categories: warm colors (e.g. red, orange) and cool colors (e.g. blue, green) (Hynes, 2009). Research has shown that cool colors are associated with calmness and relaxation while warm colors stimulate the viewers, as they are associated with excitement and anger (Elliot & Maier, 2012).
Table 1. Color and its Psychological Associations
Through associative priming, the psychological process in which two nodes become linked, a brand becomes primed with a color along with the identity that the color embodies (Baxter, 2010). Eventually, brand colors act as effective visual cues that signify brand personality and allow customers to differentiate brands (Kapferer, 1995; Zaichkowsky, 2010). Color is therefore not merely a tool that provides aesthetic pleasure, but also a powerful element that helps customers form emotional bonds with the brands (Goldman, 2005). For instance, IBM utilizes the color blue to communicate competence and trust, indicating that color can be used to convey a brand’s personality and build brand trust, and Coca-Cola uses its iconic red color to convey energy and enthusiasm.
In fact, Suriadi et al. (2022) highlight that colors evoke affective and unconscious reactions, which subsequently affect product perception and purchase intent. Empirical research shows that aligning the perceived benefits of products with the brand color amplifies the perceived benefits for both functional and sensory-social products (Doyle & Bottomley, 2006). For example, using blue – a color commonly associated with functionality – for brands selling utilitarian products such as kitchen rolls, and red – a color associated with sensory and social appeal – for chocolates or ice cream brands, significantly augmented the perceived benefits promoted by the brand (Doyle & Bottomley, 2006). Likewise, Labrecque and Milne (2012), state that when a brand personality profile matches the color of a product's package, customers’ intentions to purchase increases (Labrecque & Milne, 2012). Furthermore, customers who view a colorful brand logo were likely to infer that the brand offers more diverse products compared to less colorful logos (Song et al., 2022).
In summary, brand color is critical in promoting a coherent brand image through associative priming. Therefore, strategic usage of brand colors will enable marketers to shape customer behavior, enhance product perception, and render their brands more memorable to customers.
The Role of Color in Product Packaging
Color and Product Identification
Color is a visual trait that is widely used by customers to differentiate product categories. Foundational research conducted by Schiller (1935) indicates that female customers associated the colors green and yellow with utilitarian goods such as soap and breakfast goods, as these colors stimulated feelings of functionality and cleanliness. On the other hand, the colors silver and black evoked feelings of dignity and classiness and therefore were associated with luxury products (Schiller, 1935). Furthermore, the color white, specifically white bags, was used to identify the product category of flour and vivid colors were associated with children’s products (Garber et al., 2000; Scott & Vargas, 2007). Product color also influences the degree to which a certain product grabs the consumer’s attention in a shopping experience. Specifically, products that utilized colors that contrasted with typical product-category-color expectations were more likely to grab the attention of the consumers and eventually increase their shopping time (Garber, Hyatt, & Starr, 2003).
The Influence of Color on Product Perception
Beyond product category identification, the packaging color of a product has a significant influence on the perceived benefits, country of origin, and target segment of products. For instance, research by Garber and Hyatt (2003) indicates that the color of dishwashing liquid packaging affects perceived benefits: yellow suggests a lemon scent, green is associated with being unscented, and blue suggests that the product is effective at removing grease.
Beyond functional goods, colors used in product packaging also influence the perception of drugs. Specifically, medicine that is packaged in a cover using “warm colors” such as red or yellow was perceived to contain drugs that were potent compared to those that were packaged in “cool colors” such as blue or green (Roullet & Droulers, 2005).
The saturation of the color also significantly impacts the perceived benefits of a particular product. For instance, Products that are vivid and colorful (colors with high saturation) are associated with children’s products and therefore, are thought to be of low quality. On the other hand, products that are packaged using a muted palette (low saturation) are considered to be of higher quality due to their association with classiness (Scott & Vargas, 2007).
Furthermore, cultural beliefs and ideals constructed around specific colors also render the color scheme of product packages a powerful tool that affects people’s product preferences. According to Block & Kramer (2009), a survey conducted on Taiwanese customers indicated that Taiwanese consumers showed a greater affinity towards red, as it is considered to be a lucky color in Taiwanese culture. Specifically, participants showed greater product expectations and purchasing intentions for red rice cookers compared to green rice cookers (Block & Kramer, 2009).
As the literature suggests that the color of a product’s package taps into the cultural associations and psychological norms associated with the color, utilizing colors that are closely related to the benefits of the product in the product development or the packaging stage will be helpful for companies to increase customer’s willingness to pay.
The Role of Color in the Shopping Experience
The role of color in shaping customers’ experience has been investigated as a crucial part of atmospherics, which refers to “the effort to design buying environments to produce specific emotional effects in the buyer that enhance his purchase probability” (Kotler, 1973, p. 50). Through the study of atmospherics, scholars have investigated various ways in which tactile, olfactory, and visual elements of the shopping environment could affect purchasing behavior.
Various studies have been conducted on the role of the background color of physical stores in shaping consumer behavior. Early studies in this field have shown that warm vs. cool colors influence consumers’ psychological state. Specifically, warm colors were found to arouse customers while customers exposed to cool colors reported feeling more relaxed and pleasant (Crowley, 1993; Bellizzi & Hite, 1992). The psychological implications of color led to differences in consumer behavior as well. Blue retail environments led to longer shopping time and more purchases (Bellizzi & Hite, 1992). In fact, this preference is also evident in the digital space, as people showed fewer postponed purchases when they saw a product on television with a blue background compared to a red background (Bellizzi & Hite, 1992). Later studies, however, revealed that the behavioral differences instigated by color were dependent on consumers’ cultural backgrounds: French-Canadians gave higher quality ratings to products in malls with a warm color décor while Anglo-Candians gave higher quality ratings to products exhibited in a mall with cool color décor (Chebat & Morrin, 2007).
The interaction between color and other visual elements of the shopping atmosphere such as lighting has also been investigated. For instance, a study conducted by Babin et al. (2003) indicates that the effect of the color blue and orange walls in shopping-oriented retail stores is moderated by the effects of lighting (soft vs. bright). The results indicate that overall, blue led to better affective evaluations, higher levels of excitement, higher rates of perceived fairness, store patronage, and purchase intentions when it was shown with bright lights (Babin et al., 2003). However, when soft lighting was employed, participants showed greater affective evaluations and perceived fairness for orange walls. In fact, under bright lighting, there was no significant difference in excitement and purchase intentions between orange and blue wall conditions (Babin et al., 2003).
Conclusion & Future Studies
This paper investigated the use of color psychology in the field of marketing and consumer behavior. Previous literature indicates that color psychology has been applied to primarily three fields of marketing: brand logos, atmospherics, and product packaging. A close scrutiny of previous studies indicates that color psychology shapes brand personality, fosters product and brand recognition, and signals product category, eventually influencing customers’ purchasing intent (Labrecque & Milne, 2012; Doyle & Bottomley, 2006; Song et al., 2022). Furthermore, the colors of the background in the digital space or the physical retail environments also impact customers’ overall shopping experience (Chebat & Morrin, 2007; Babin et al., 2003). Overall, previous research has shown that color, one of the most prominent visual cues, has a profound effect on sensory marketing.
However, many topics require further research. For instance, the psychological influence of color may differ depending on the generation of the customers. With the development of technology and media, younger generations have greater exposure to diverse sensory experiences (Dusek, 2021). Therefore, the associations younger generations form with various colors can be different from those of the older generations. In fact, research indicates that the threshold sensitivity and temporal acuity differ based on age, further hinting that a single color could have multiple psychological and behavioral implications depending on one’s stage of life (Humes et al., 2009). Furthermore, previous research has also delved into the interaction between other sensory inputs such as temperature and color (Porter & Mikellides, 1976). Therefore, the ways in which various sensory inputs such as music, touch, and smell interact with the perception of color to influence customers’ information processing and consumption behaviors is also a promising field that requires further research.
Finally, future research should also shed light on the differing effects of engagement levels on the effectiveness of color marketing. Previous research on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) suggests that people process information through two routes: the central route and the peripheral route (Zander, 2006). The central route is used when people process information carefully in a high-motivation situation (Zander, 2006). On the other hand, people’s peripheral route processing is activated when they are not deeply engaged in the situation and processing the information without much cognitive effort (Zander, 2006). As previous research indicates that people are more likely to be influenced by heuristic cues and sensory inputs when they are processing information through the peripheral route, the color of the retail environment or the brand may have a greater influence on customers when they are purchasing inexpensive products that require less cognitive effort compared to expensive products. Therefore, the ways in which the marketing implications of colors vary according to a customer’s level of engagement should be investigated to shed light on how color can be used in real-life marketing situations (Meyers-Levy & Peracchio, 1995).
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