Color psychology is fascinating
It has become commonly accepted that certain colors stimulate store purchases, and others evoke calm and trust at a doctor’s office, but there is new information out that reveals saturation and contrast play a role in how our brains receive different light waves (colors) as well.
Do you know whether putting text to the left or the right of an item for sale online generates more purchases, or whether people will spend more money in a store with an orange motif or a blue motif?
Braincraft, one of our favorite informative video series on YouTube, has pulled together an impressive number of studies to reveal a current overview of how color psychology stimulates or repels sales, but not just in stores, but on websites as well, a welcome update to business owners’ repertoire of sales boosters:
As referenced, the study of color psychology goes back roughly 200 years, but with modern research, we now know that it isn’t as black and white as saying “red does X” and “blue does Y,” because there are many shades of red and blue, and so forth, and their intensity alters how the brain receives them, thus altering the actions taken by consumers.
Additionally, sales is not as black and white either, because what a doctor sales is far different than a fitness store, and the end result is different in each case. A doctor wants people to come back because she is trusted and her consumers are calm, while a fitness store owner wants people to come back and buy his fitness products because they’re excited and pumped up to do just that.
Online shopping was briefly addressed in the video, and there is a massive amount of science around e-commerce purchase decisions available online, but the basic premise that color touches different parts of our brain holds true.
