Google News
spot_img

Colours in retail, a psychological experience

Must Read

Colours can have a major psychological influence and all retailers can use this valuable tool in their operations.

We react fundamentally to colours because they help us make sense of our surroundings; indeed, some 80 per cent of information reaches our brains via our eyes. It means that we are instinctively more comfortable when colours remind us of something familiar — for instance, a soft shade of blue triggers associations with the sky and a psychological sense of calm. Colour can be everything to a successful store, if the palettes work well across the whole shop and complement other elements such as product displays and lighting. The point isn’t about creating the most beautiful store, but one that has coherence.

Colour is central to coherence because we react instinctively to it. Red means ‘stop’ and green means ‘go’. Our brains are hot-wired to respond to colours and, for modern retailers, the trick to using colours is to understand both its physiological and psychological influences. Even the prisons and hospitals in the Western countries now use colour to influence the behaviour of inmates and patients.

In children, by contrast, those colour associations are still being formed, which is why youngsters respond best to bright primary colours. Those bold colours are very evident in most toys, clothes and children’s books — and the colour schemes of the most successful kids’ retailers.

The success of a retail store isn’t so much influenced by the chosen colour scheme, but by how their target customers react to it. Is the store aimed at teenagers.

Colour psychology perhaps explains why people are allegedly more relaxed in a green room and why weightlifters perform better in blue gyms. It’s certainly the reason why some paint manufacturers now have colour cards setting out the therapeutic aspects of each hue, and why some cosmetic companies have introduced “colour therapy” ranges. We all share similar responses to colour, although some cultural variations exist. For example, white is the colour of marriage in Western societies but is the colour of death in our country as well as in China. In Brazil, purple is the colour of death. Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, but signifies sadness in Greece and jealousy in France. People from tropical countries respond most favourably to warm colours; people from Northern climates prefer cooler colours.

Our heart rate and blood pressure rise when we look at intense reds; conversely, we can become tired or anxious by looking at large areas of bright whites or grays. In a retail environment, understanding those responses can be crucial to enticing a customer inside, and then enticing them to open her wallets.

To make things more complicated, the success of a retail store isn’t so much influenced by the chosen colour scheme, but by how their target customers react to it. Is the store aimed at
teenagers, thirty-somethings or senior citizens? The success of the store depends on how the customer reacts to both the products on display and the sales environment. Younger people like the energy of bold colours; older people prefer more subtle palettes. Get those colours wrong, and a retailer will find that their customers simply won’t relate to the brand.

Colour association also extends into food retailing. For example, most fast-food restaurants are decorated in vivid reds and oranges. These are colours that encourage us to eat quickly and leave — exactly what the fast-food operators want us to do. Luxury brands, on the other hand, favour softer colours that appear more sophisticated. In classier restaurants, those are the colours that encourage us to linger — and to order another drink, another coffee.

By recognising how colour influences us, retailers are better able to induce feelings of warmth, intimacy or serenity — or, by using more vibrant palettes, to excite or stimulate. It’s about understanding target markets, the product lines to appeal to them and the kind of brand the retailer wants to convey. Lastly, it’s about conveying that brand though colour and design.

Dheeraj Dogra is president – business development at mall advisory company Squarefeet Management. Views expressed are personal. Detailed Profile

Latest News

Smartsters opens shop-in-shop store at Crossword in Pune

Currently, the company plans to open over 10 shop-in-shop locations pan India Bengaluru: Kids’ furniture brand Smartsters has launched its...