Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The two-dimensional impact of color on shopping

  • Published:
Marketing Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Prior research has typically grouped color effects into a single class of effects and has ignored situational aspects of consumer responses to color. In the present study, color effects are shown to exhibit different patterns depending on the type of response examined. Further, these effects are described as a function of color wavelength. Evaluative effects are most positive at the short wavelength (blue) end of the visible spectrum, while the activation response engendered by color exhibits a U-shaped pattern across wavelengths. Results of the study support the existence of these two distinct dimensions, and potential applications of the findings are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Armore, Sidney J. (1973).Elementary Statistics and Decision Making. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellizzi, Joseph A., Ayn E. Crowley, and Ronald W. Hasty. (1983). “The Effects of Color in Store Design,”Journal of Retailing 59 (Spring), 21–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjerstedt, A. (1960). “Warm-Cool Color Preferences as Potential Personality Indicators: Preliminary Note,”Perceptual and Motor Skills 10 (February), 31–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Childers, Terry L., and Michael J. Houston. (1984). “Conditions for a Picture-Superiority Effect of Consumer Memory,”Journal of Consumer Research 11 (September), 643–654.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clynes, M., and M. Kohn. (1968). “Recognition of Visual Stimuli from the Electric Response of the Brain.” InComputers and Electronic Devices in Psychiatry, N. S. Kline and E. Laska (eds.), New York: Grune & Stratton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, Allen L. (1985).Experimental Design in Psychological Research. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, J. D. (1974). “Situation-Specific Variables as Determinants of Perceived Environmental Aesthetic Quality and Perceived Crowdedness,”Journal of Research in Personality 8 (August), 177–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, Keith W., and James F. Suess. (1975). “Effects of Four Psychological Primary Colors on Anxiety State,”Perceptual and Motor Skills 41, 207–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, Keith W., and Francis M. Nordan. (1979). “Classification of Placebo Drugs: Effect of Color,”Perceptual and Motor Skills 49, 367–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroeber-Riel, Werner. (1979). “Activation Research: Psychogiological Approaches in Consumer Research,”Journal of Consumer Research 5 (March), 240–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehrabian, Alpert, and James A. Russell. (1979).An Approach to Environmental Psychology. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Middlestadt, Susan E. (1990). “The Effect of Background and Ambient Color on Product Attitudes and Beliefs,”Advances in Consumer Research 17, Marvin Goldberg et al. (eds.), Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 244–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakshian, Jacob S. (1964). “The Effects of Red and Green Surroundings on Behavior,”Journal of General Psychology 70 (January), 143–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, Charles E., George J. Suci, and Percy H. Tannenbaum. (1957).The Measurement of Meaning. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavey, Donald. (1980).Color. Los Angeles: Knapp Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, James A., and Geraldine Pratt. (1980). “A Description of the Affective Quality Attributed to Environments,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 38 (2), 311–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sallis, R. E., and L. W. Buckalew. (1984). “Relation of Capsule Color and Perceived Potency,”Perceptual and Motor Skills 58, 897–898.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharpe, Deborah T. (1979).The Psychology of Color and Design. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silver, N. Clayton, and William L. McCulley. (1988). “Sex and Race Differences in Color and Number Preferences,”Perceptual and Motor Skills 66, 295–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, Surendra N., and Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. (1987). “Arousal and Advertising Effectiveness,”Journal of Advertising 16 (1), 4–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, S. S. (1946). “On the Theory of Scales of Measurement,”Science 105 (June 7), 677–680.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiegersma, Sjoerd, and Gerard Van der Elst. (1988). “Blue Phenomenon: Spontaneity or Preference?”Perceptual and Motor Skills 66, 308–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, Glenn D. (1966). “Arousal Properties of Red Versus Green,”Perceptual and Motor Skills 23, 947–949.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business and Economics, Washington State University, 99164-4730, Pullman, WA

    Ayn E. Crowley

Authors
  1. Ayn E. Crowley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

The author wishes to thank Mark Alpert, Joe Cote, Pam Henderson, Wayne Hoyer and Eric Spangenberg for their helpful comments.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Crowley, A.E. The two-dimensional impact of color on shopping. Marketing Letters 4, 59–69 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00994188

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00994188

Key words

Search

Navigation