Research shows that a whopping 85% of people name color as the main reason for buying the product. Even though this isn’t as simple as “Switch your colors, and business will bloom”, it certainly shows that you need to put more thought into your color palette.

In this text, we’ll show you how to use colors in your eCommerce business to get the best out of your brand and how important the color palette in marketing is.

Why colors matter for branding and marketing

Colors speak to us on a deeper, emotional level. That makes them much more persuasive than words.

When you start noticing the color choices around you, especially when it comes to marketing for your industry, you’ll see mostly the same color combinations. That is not by accident because, as research indicates, these are the colors that people associate with brands in your industry.

Choosing which colors are perfect for your brand's palette is not just an aesthetic decision. Because it requires both using science and testing the audience’s reaction and changing your design accordingly.

A product's color can sway our opinion and convince us that they’re better than the competition. For example, white background for cleaning detergents will sell better than detergent with any other color because we associate white with cleanliness.

How colors impact your customers

You probably know about the basics of color influence, like that white means clean (as said before), and red means passion, etc. But color psychology is more than that. It dives into more complex ways colors influence buyers and has become an actual science.

Here are some examples:

• Red, orange, royal blue, and black – colors influencing impulse buyers

• Navy blue and teal – for bargain hunters

• Sky blue, pink, and other soft colors – for traditional shoppers.

Color psychology isn’t only about enticing emotions. It’s more about choosing colors that match your buyers' expectations for brands and products.

Nature taught us what each color means, and when designing for your business, you should follow these rules. It’s ingrained in our minds, the certain expectations from a specific color, so play by that association.

But not every color has one direct association. That depends on cultural and individual backgrounds and individual tastes.

But you can infer some “rules” even from something so complex, based on color psychology science. Some research on your target audience would greatly help to connect all this into a coherent, meaningful marketing strategy.

Psychology behind colors

Each color has a list of things that are associated with it. You can use this to your advantage in your marketing and advertising strategy. Here are those color lists and what you can use them for:

1. Blue

Blue is considered a more masculine color, but it’s so much more than that. It is the most popular brand color for both men and women, according to Kissmetrics.

It’s associated with:

• Calmness

• Stability

• Security

• Peace

• Reliability

• Refreshing

• Relaxation

• Sadness

For example, spas use blue color because of its connection with calmness, relaxation, peace, and blues’ association with stability and authority makes it also popular with banks.

2. Red

Red is a color that demands attention. It’s very hot and vibrant and associated with:

• Passion

• Warmth

• Fire

• Love

• Appetite

• High energy

• Confidence

• Emergency

• Danger

• War

• Fear

• Anger

Red is a color that raises blood pressure and boosts metabolism, increasing the appetite. Therefore it’s ideal for restaurant signs and logos. In addition, the sense of urgency it gives makes it a perfect color for CTA (call to action) button. Some of the most famous brands use this warm color such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, KFC, Netflix, etc.

3. Green

Unlike red, green helps reduce blood pressure and lowers heart rate. Being on a cool spectrum, green is a great choice for professional, mature brands. We associate with green:

• Nature

• Environment

• Fresh

• Organic

• Health

• Finances

• Growth

• Wealth

• Harmony

• Balance

• Good luck

• Soothing

That fresh feeling that the green color gives is great for a health food brand. It’s also a perfect color if you want to emphasize that you’re organic or eco-friendly.

4. Yellow

Yellow is a warm color, the same color as our sun. Therefore it will always be associated with warmth and optimism. It’s both light and strong at the same time. Things associated with yellow are:

• Optimism

• Sunshine

• Warmth

• Energy

• Joy

• Optimism

• Communication

• Inspiration

• Youth

• Playfulness

• Cheerfulness

• Danger

Even though danger is negative, it can be a great match with a brand that preaches caution (power tools). It’s also a great choice for window displays in retail.

5. Orange

Orange is a color of friendliness and enthusiasm, similar to red regarding energy and warmth. So, associations with orange are:

• Youth

• Enthusiasm

• Friendliness

• Optimism

• Affordability

• Warmth

• Energy

• Vitality

• Humor

Orange is a perfect color to use if you want to attract attention and show that you’re energetic and youthful. It’s just perfect for impulse buyers and CTAs, but also for food and creative industries.

6. Purple

Purple is a mysterious, spiritual, mystical, sensual, and not too common an occurrence in nature. We usually associate purple with:

• Royalty

• Luxury

• Magic

• Mystery

• Intrigue

• Creativity

• Wisdom

• Wealth

• Imagination

• Spirituality

Purple is often used by “outside the box’ brands, creatives, and for kids and young adult markets, and is also used by candy and cosmetic companies for branding and packaging.

7. Pink

Pink is much more color for girls than blue is for boys, and you can’t use it for brands and products that are for men. Most men are repelled by it. There’s a lot to be said about psychology surrounding the pink color, but here’s just the marketing and advertising side of it. Pink is considered:

• Feminine

• Youthful

• Fun

• Upbeat

• Sweet

• Innocent

• Delicate

• Sensitive

• Romantic

• Caring

• Peaceful

It’s the color for brands that are feminine and youthful. For example, pink is a popular color for sweetshops and bakeries because it reminds people of sweetness, just like what they sell. Pink is also popular with cosmetic and feminine product brands.

8. Gray

Grey is associated with professionalism, seriousness, and practicality. It’s often considered boring, but if done right, with an intelligent marketing strategy, it doesn’t have to be. It’s is considered:

• Neutral

• Practical

• Professional

• Reliable

• Elegant

• Efficient

• Formal

• Corporate

• Serious

• Mature

• Knowledge

• Modern

• Calm

Gray is used in all industries, usually in combination with other colors. But if you want to relay the timelessness and elegance of the brand, the gray color is a good choice. It’s often used in tech and for modern brands and products, combined with one or two other colors.

9. Black

Black gives off a powerful and authoritative feeling. The associations we have with black are:

• Luxury

• Mystery

• Power

• Formality

• Sophistication

• Elegance

• Simplicity

• Darkness

• Sexuality

• Control

• Authority

• The occult

Black is primarily elegant and modern, but it can be mysterious and occult if you choose it that way. It's an excellent choice for music, art, and fashion brands but also for luxurious, upscale brands that scream “exclusive” and “expensive”.

10. White

White is a fresh, new canvas. It stimulates the imagination and plays to our wish to fill the blank canvas. It’s associated with:

• Cleanliness

• Purity

• Truthfulness

• Blankness

• Simplicity

• Minimalism

• Modern

• Youth

• Innocence

• Honor

• Peace

• Blandness

• Isolation

• Coldness

White is often used with other colors as a contrast or negative space. It usually adds light and, in some cases, a touch of the dramatic.

11. Brown

Brown is a color invoking trust and dependability. It also gives a feeling of the olden days and old-fashioned things. It’s associated with:

• Reliable

• Old-fashioned

• History

• Natural

• Earthy

• Warm

• Friendly

• Masculine

• Stable

• Comfortable

• Dependable

• Dirty

Probably because of how the old photographs look, with the sepia tone, the brown color reminds people of the old days and history. Therefore, brown is a good choice for brands that want to evoke that sense of nostalgia in their customers.

But, this color can also feel dirty, so brands that want that clean, fresh look should avoid the brown. But for a coffee or gardening brand, brown hits the mark.

Colors and cultural background

When deciding on your color palette, always consider the cultural background of your target audience. Colors have different meanings in different cultures.

Before you design your brand marketing and advertising materials, you should research your selected colors’ cultural associations with your target audience. If you use a color palette for your brand that doesn’t match the expectations of your audience, you can ruin it before it even comes on the market.

After research comes the testing, where you should pit colors against each other to find “the winner”. That’s a color that your target audience has the most positive response to regarding your brand message and no negative associations.

Conclusion

So, now you have a better understanding of how the psychology of colors in marketing and advertising works. Therefore, it will be easier for you to convey your brand's distinctive message to your target audience.

Also, you don’t have to hire a professional to design your color palette, and you can do it yourself. It’s not complicated. Just choose a design tool like Glorify that’s easy to use by both beginners and professionals.

You can create your color palette by blending different colors and shades with one click. There’s an extensive catalog you can browse through and a range of color palettes you can explore, all created by Glorify's expert designers.

By creating color palettes in the brand kit, you can apply them to the elements of your design then and there. You can use the color palette to change the background color, text, shapes, and icons as well.

Sign up for free, create your color palette in a matter of minutes, and make it easy for your visuals to align with your brand!