How Colors Effects Consumers

If consumers know it or not, colors have a strong psychological effect on how they buy, shop, and even feel. People have a strong connection with colors and feelings. Color triggers stimulation in the brain and can have an array of effects on the consumer. Knowing how each color interacts with the consumer can help market your business and your products. The following is looking at consumers and the effects of color in North America, as each area of the world is different.
Visuals are Important
According to studies it only takes a customer 90 seconds to form an opinion and 90 percent is because of the influence of color. A majority of consumers will buy a product based on color and the visual information given rather than the words or other information given. 93% of consumers suggest that visual appearance is most important.

Color Associations
Knowing what color consumers correlate with security, fear, speed, or even being cheap can help you send a good message. Colors like blue, white and green are connected to trust. If you use black instead of white, it can signify security in most consumers. While different color combinations can signify various emotions or words, branding yourself correctly can make consumers associate a color with you. For example, Cocoa Cola and red, yellow and McDonald’s arches, and purple and taco bell.

Color Mood and Emotions
Colors have been associated with various words and more powerfully, people make strong emotional connections with words. A sunshine yellow brings about feels of hope, happiness, and optimism. Green is associated with nature and can provoke feelings of serenity. Red can influence the buyer to feel aggressive, hungry, and even impulsive. Knowing what colors, you are trying to use and knowing how the consumer might perceive them can allow you to make smarter branding moves

Color Preferences
Everyone has their favorite color. Studies show that the most dominantly liked color is blue. This is also a color that even a majority of the color-blind have an easy time seeing, making it an optimal color. Studies found men like blue and green the most, and women enjoy blue and purple. They also discovered that men dislike purple and brown, and women dislike orange or brown. Depending on your target audience, it would be good to keep in mind desirable color pallets. Even with the shades, men and women have been studied to have a preference. Women enjoy softer shades, while men react positively to bright contrasting colors.

How people view colors can help market your business and brand yourself how you want to be seen. If you’re looking to invoke security about your brand, you want to know what colors accomplish that goal. Many people have associations with colors and can feel various emotions with each as well. Maybe even looking at what colors most people enjoy to view would be a good start to any color design. Know your consumer and the effect your outward appearance has to better understand how to present yourself.