Color Psychology: the Secret Weapon for Amazon and E-Commerce Product Pages

Imagine Apple’s website. What colors do you see? White? Black? A little gray, maybe? These colors suit the brand’s technical products, giving the impression of quality, simplicity, and professionalism.

Something as simple as a color scheme can make a huge difference in how a brand and product are perceived. In fact, 90% of snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone.

The study of this phenomenon is called color psychology. Broadly speaking, color psychology is the study of how colors affect perceptions and behaviors. In marketing and branding, color psychology is focused on how colors impact consumers’ impressions of a brand and whether they persuade consumers to consider specific brands or make a purchase.

This is important information for e-commerce or Amazon sellers creating their website, EBC (A+ Content, or Premium A+ Content), product insert cards, or packaging. Every color tells a story, and you want to make sure you’re telling the one that will best represent your brand’s tone, values, and audience. 

Grab a cup of coffee, settle into a comfy spot, and explore a rainbow of options with Marketing by Emma. By the time you’ve finished that steaming cup, you’ll have an idea of which colors will complement your brand.

First, Some Basic Terms

• Warm colors: Colors with red, yellow, or orange tones.

• Cool colors: Colors with blue, green, or purple tones.

• Monochrome: Black and white or varying tones of only one color.

• Complementary or high-contrast colors: Colors that, when combined with a given color, make a grayscale color such as white or black. In other words, opposite colors on a color wheel. 

• Analogous colors: Colors that are very similar to one another; typically they are right next to each other on the color wheel.

• Triadic colors: A variant of the split complementary color scheme, with an equal distance between all colors on the color wheel.

A Look at Major Colors’ Personalities 

Let’s examine what traits customers can infer from major colors. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should give you a good idea.

As you’re reading, think of how you would describe your brand’s tone. See if there are some colors that jump out at you. 

• Red: Connotes energy, boldness, and excitement.
• Orange: Connotes positivity, friendliness, and comfort.
• Yellow: Connotes optimism, happiness, and warmth.
• Green: Connotes health, restfulness, and growth. 
• Blue: Connotes calmness, trust, and strength.
• Purple: Connotes wisdom, creativity, and luxury. 
• Pink: Connotes softness, kindness, and femininity. 
• Black: Connotes mystery, power, and sophistication.
• White: Connotes purity, simplicity, and cleanliness.
• Brown: Connotes dependability, resilience, and groundedness.

Time to Strategize

Ready to dive into the nitty gritty? Let’s brainstorm your brand’s color scheme!

Which color(s) suit(s) your brand?

What does your brand believe in? What is its story? What market does it position itself in? What emotions would you use to describe it?  

Decide exactly who your brand is and think about which color(s) seem appropriate. Another thing to consider is the tint or shade of your color(s): pale, bold, or somewhere in between?

This isn’t an exact science, so there isn’t one right answer. Consider colors’ popular connotations, but trust your gut. 

Which color(s) suit(s) your audience? 

Who is your target audience? Are they everyday people searching for a supplement that will make them feel better and healthier? Are they outdoorsy explorers looking for dependable sporting and hiking gear? Are they new parents navigating the wide world of baby products? 

Pay attention to which colors come to mind when you think about your audience. After all, you are diving into color psychology partly to build your brand but mostly to appeal to your audience.

Which color(s) suit(s) your products?

You can think of this question one of two ways depending on whether your products already exemplify your brand:

1. What do my products look like and how can I incorporate their design into my website, packaging, and/or A+ Content? 
2. How can I alter my products’ appearances to complement my website, packaging, and/or A+ Content? 

Remember, a comprehensive color scheme across everything under your brand name, including your products, will create a memorable, beautiful brand identity. 

Before we refine our options with a couple more questions, let’s look at examples of Amazon brands using colors to set their brand tone, enhance their products, and inspire certain feelings in consumers:

Let’s assume you have a handful of potential colors in mind after running them through the sieve of questions above. Here are a couple more things to consider:

Is your color scheme visually pleasing?

Do your colors clash? No? Okay, you’re good to go. 

Not sure if your colors clash? That’s okay. We’ll give you some guidance. 

• Consider keeping it monochrome.
• Choose 2-3 colors that complement each other. A good bet would be to choose analogous or triadic colors, and we’ve included a graph of these for your reference.

How can you consider color blindness? 

Color blindness makes it hard to differentiate between colors. The most common affected colors are green and red. 

Luckily, you can make your design more accessible to those with color blindness in a couple ways:

1. Choose high-contrast colors. As a refresher, high-contrast colors are opposite colors on a color wheel such as yellow and purple or orange and blue. 
2. Opt for black and white to offset your colors. People with color blindness are more skilled at distinguishing between shades than the average person. The stark difference between black and white will likely be noticeable to them.

Finishing Touches 

Ready to enhance your brand’s content with colors that strengthen it, engage your audience, and complement your products? An intentional color scheme like yours can transform websites, EBC (A+ Content), social media pages, and more.

If you’re looking to research color psychology and how it relates to marketing in more depth, check out this article.

From color schemes to conversion-boosting copy, Marketing by Emma’s expert team is always up to date. Want a second opinion on your Amazon listing? Let us take a look! Looking for help creating keyword-rich copy for your ecommerce website or Amazon listing? We got you!