What many of us do not know is the fact that there is a whole psychology behind the colors chosen in the retail stores. We might go into a retail store every day, we might even buy certain things from there, yet, we have not noticed that the colors are ubiquitous and that they play a major part in our daily life.
Indeed, there are many other things that influence us in buying products, such as music or attractive displays, but the color is the most powerful stimulus. As it has already been scientifically proven, about 80% of all the information we have contact with every day is gathered by our eyes and after that, it is transmitted to our brains. As a matter of fact, well-chosen colors are everything one needs in order to have a successful store, because 52% purchasers won’t return to a shop if they did not like the way it was decorated.
But, first of all, before establishing a color scheme, one has to clarify a variety of things about his future customers: their gender (male/female or maybe it is a unisex store), how well culturized they are, their financial resources, their education level, their age (teenagers, adults, senior citizens), where are they from and so on. For example, the countries from a tropical climate respond better to warm colors, whereas the people who are from the northern climate prefer colors that are cooler.
As the famous interior designer Jeff Grant says, we should mainly use neutral colors and only after that add other colors that depend on the future shoppers and on the type of store we own. For instance, we cannot use a bright red or orange in luxurious men’s clothing stores or in a sophisticated restaurant; these colors have to be used in really small doses. This type of vivid colors is usually found in fast-food restaurants because they encourage people to order, eat as fast as possible and then quickly leave.
Every color or chromatic combination has an effect on the clientele because, after all, the surrounding colors are the ones that influence the most whether a purchase should be made or not. They have both a psychological and physiological impact upon us that needs to be understood.
Whether it is a pale shade of green or even a darker one, it inspires freshness, enjoyment, loosening, peace and well-being. It is a color that normally induces a state of patience and tolerance because it makes people think clearly and in a more rational way; for instance, at a shop, people are calmer queuing if the walls or green, or the staff of a restaurant tends to accept more easily a noisy ambiance. Green is the color or nature and it gives a feeling of safety so it is usually used in nutritional companies, health food stores, pharmaceuticals and florist shops.
Red is one of the most powerful and strongest colors and it needs to be handled attentively. It is usually associated with the word “stop” (because of the stoplights we see daily) and as a result of this, it attracts attention – it is predominantly put on the labels to signalize sales or really low prices. However, it should be used in small quantities because it can lead to a feeling of aggression, anxiety and anger. Applied correctly, it transmits passion, energy and excitement.
The color that the human eye is most sensitive to is yellow. It is the first color we spot when in a new place, this is why the majority of legal pads are yellow; it also helps concentration and it is easy to read on it. Just as red, yellow can make someone anxious, stressed and agitated – even a darker shade of yellow can hastily become unpleasant and filthy. Otherwise, it can produce a happy, cheerful and playful atmosphere that passes on joy and fun. This is why it is appropriate for children products (toys, clothes) or in toy stores.
Because orange is a combination between those two primary colors, it inspires the same things as red and yellow. Another disturbing effect it can cause is claustrophobia.
Blue provokes a calming mood because it is often associated with the ocean and the sky and in comparison with red, it lowers the pulse rate. Many studies have shown us that blue is an honest and trustworthy color and that it is preferred by many people. We can see it almost everywhere: in gyms, offices and study rooms because it helps people perform better and focus on their work. It is often met in hospitals, prisons and stores because it puts on the air of tranquility and healing.
Black is usually considered a daunting, dramatic and a disheartening color, even a spine-chilling one. We can find it used in large doses in the teenagers’ stores who sell popular and stylish products or in electronic stores, however, it is really dangerous to use it like this because it is an eye-catching color. Black applied correctly frequently symbolizes elegance, class and richness (this is why we have the well-known “black tie” events)
In contrast to black, white is known as “the color of perfection”; it automatically makes one think of winter and snow. It is, indeed, the color of pureness, cleanliness and immaculateness. Be that as it may, white should be applied in simple and minimalistic designs or as a background to contrast more colorful objects. We also need to be careful in which part of the world we decide to make or paint almost everything white; in most of the countries white is used at weddings, so it is a joyous color, but in China, for instance, it is the color of death.
Even though purple and pink might seem similar to us and we might think that they have the same effect upon us, this is not true. Purple implies creativeness, power, magic, but at the same time, aristocracy, power, luxury and sophistication. Just as red, it is a spot color that can captivate the others. Yet, pink is a color that is popular among teenagers – especially girls. It is the color of compassion and love.
The Color Marketing Group (CMG), a professional organization for color designers in Alexandria, has already declared that entrepreneurs and interior designers should be really careful when choosing the décor of a retail store, because every color has a hidden power that will affect everyone who will be entering the store. It is already known that approximately 93% of purchases are made only because of the visual appearance of an object. All in all, colors play a significant role in marketing and in retail stores, being the ones who control most of the sales that are made.
