Articles > Colour and buyer behaviour

We all know how quickly we make judgements about people and things. Well now research by the Institute for Colour Research shows that 90% of this judgement can be based on colour and the emotions derived it. That makes colour pretty vital to your product and brand, whether it's in store, online or on screen, because it will also affect buying behaviour.

So what are your colours saying about you?!

There are 11 basics colours and regardless of their tone or shade they each have psychological properties attached to them (See the chart opposite). Each colour or combination of colours that you use within your branding can have a positive or negative effect on the audience and finding the balance can be crucial to reflect your brand values - and ultimately the success of your business.

Can colour sell?

When it comes to products colour can really help to sell. 73% of purchasing decisions are made in store and Studies by the Henley Centre have shown that colours can be used to create a positive influence on the consumer purchase process for the 3 main categories of shoppers:

1) Impulse buyers - who are most affected by red, orange and royal blues
2) Shoppers who intend to stick to a budget are mostly influenced by pink, teal, light blue and navy.
3) Traditionalist shoppers best respond to pastel pinks, rose and sky blue.

But it also depends where you are. The importance of colour in culture and religion can also affect your product popularity. A good example of this is the Apple I Mac. Sold world wide the I Mac is available in a range of colours, the most popular being graphite and blue, except in the Far East, where the best sellers are bright orange. It is Apple's belief that this is due to the positive cultural associations with bright colours and the connection with Saffron.

Colour and branding

Colour is crucial for branding too. According to Cobalt and UCL's psychology department, colour is more memorable than shape or name. Underestimate its power at your peril. A study by the University of Loyola indicates that colour increase brand recognition by up to 80%.

Owning your colour and differentiating from the competition is therefore key and one high profile market where colour is a key differentiator is the mobile phone market. Think O2, think blue; think T mobile, think pink; and of course Orange is orange! It's interesting that Coca Cola, one of the first brands to take ownership of a colour (red), is now in competition with a mobile phone company. At least 30% of the U.K now associate the colour red with VodaFone. (Pepsi also used to be red but changed their colour to blue to differentiate from Coca Cola).

Given our historical link with Flymo (Oliver was Head of Marketing there from early eighties to the nineties) the effect of colour on branding holds great fascination to us. The decision to make the quirky garden range orange was outrageous at the time and hugely successful. 

Colour creates powerful emotions from the viewer. The animal kingdom has exploited this for millions of years from the "look at me I'm gorgeous" approach to the "stay away I'm poisonous" warning (even when they're not).

There are (apparently) 11 key colour emotions. Get it wrong on your product and you might suffer sales losses due to some deep primeval reaction amongst your prospects!

To view the chart click on the image below: