Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effect of colors of e-commerce websites on consumer mood, memorization and buying intention

  • Research Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Information Systems

Abstract

This paper aims at studying the effect of the colors of e-commerce websites on consumer mood, memorization and buying intention. On the basis of a literature review a conceptual model is proposed, showing the effects of the color of e-commerce websites and specifically of its components, hue and brightness on the behavioral responses of the consumer, memorization and buying intention. These responses are conveyed by mood. Data collection was carried out during a laboratory experiment in order to control for the measurement of the colored appearance of e-commerce websites. Participants visited one of the eight versions of a website designed for the research, selling music CDs. Data analysis using ANOVA, regressions and general linear models show a significant effect of color on memorization, conveyed by mood. The interaction of hue and brightness, using chromatic colors for the background and foreground supports memorization and buying intention, when contrast is based on low brightness. A negative mood infers better memorization but a decreasing buying intention. Implications for theory and practice 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

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agarwal A and Hedge A (2008) The impact of web page usability guideline implementation on aesthetics and perceptions of the e-retailer. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 52 (6), 528–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aumont J (1994) Introduction à la couleur: des discours aux images. Armand Colin, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belk RW (1985) Issues in the intention-behavior discrepancy. In Research in Consumer Behavior – Volume 1 (Sheth Jagdish N, Eds), pp 1–34, JAI Press, CN: Greenwich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellizzi JA and Hite RE (1992) Environmental color, consumer feelings, and purchase likelihood. Psychology and Marketing 9 (September–October), 347–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bem SL (1974) The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 42 (2), 155–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biers K and Richards L (2002) Web page background color evaluative effect on selected product attributes. Working paper, Utah State University.

  • Boyatzis CJ and Varghese R (1993) Children's emotional associations with colors. The Journal of Genetic Psychology 155 (1), 77–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady L and Phillips C (2003) Aesthetics and usability: a look at colour and balance. Usability News 5 (2), 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bremond E (2002) L’intelligence de la couleur (Michel A, Ed.), Albin Michel, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bucklin RE and Sismeiro C (2003) A model of web site browsing behavior estimated on clickstream data. Journal of Marketing Research 40 (3), 249–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camgöz N, Yener N and Güvenç D (2002) Effects of hue, saturation, and brightness on preference. Color Research & Application 27 (3), 199–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chebat J-C, Gelinas-Chebat C, Vaninski A and Filiatrault P (1995) The impact of mood on time perception, memorization, and acceptance of waiting. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 121 (4), 411–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chebat J-C and Morrin M (2006) Colors and cultures: exploring the effects of mall decor on consumer perceptions. Journal of Business Research 60 (3), 189–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini RB, Darby BL and Vincent JE (1973) Transgression and altruism: a case for hedonism. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 9 (6), 502–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coursaris C, Swierenga S and Watrall E (2008) An empirical investigation of color temperature and gender effects on web aesthetics. Journal of Usability Studies 3 (3), 103–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyr D, Head M and Larios H (2010) Colour appeal in website design within and across cultures: a multi-method evaluation. International Journal of Human–Computer Studies 68 (1–2), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darpy D (1997) Une variable médiatrice du report d’achat: La procrastination. Communication au 13ème Congrès International de l’AFM, Toulouse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deeb SS (2004) Molecular genetics of color-vision deficiencies. Visual Neuroscience 21 (3), 191–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deeb SS and Motulsky AG (2011) Red-green color vision defects. In GeneReviews (Pagon RA, Bird TD, Dolan CR and Stephens K, Eds), University of Washington, Seattle, WA. 1993–2005 [updated 29 September 2011].

    Google Scholar 

  • Delafrooz N, Paim LH and Khatibi A (2010) Students’ online shopping behavior: an empirical study. Journal of American Science 6 (1), 137–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demers E and Lev B (2001) A rude awakening: internet shakeout in 2000. Review of Accounting Studies 6 (2–3), 331–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Divard R and Urien B (2001) Le consumer vit dans un monde en couleurs. Recherche et Applications en Marketing 16 (1), 3–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donovan RJ and Rossiter JR (1982) Store atmosphere: an environmental psychology approach. Journal of Retailing 58 (1), 34–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreze X and Zufryden F (1997) Testing web site design and promotional content. Journal of Advertising Research 37 (2), 77–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drugeon-Lichtlé M-C (1996) Les effets des couleurs d’une annonce magazine sur les émotions du consumer: conceptualisation et résultats d’une étude exploratoire. In Actes de l’Association Française de Marketing (Kalika M Ed), Vol. 12, pp 445–458, Poitiers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn B (1992) Choice of color for product can be critical factor. The Gazette, 10 August, p 6.

  • Engel JF, Kollat DT and Blackwell RD (1978) Consumer Behavior, 3rd edn. Dryden Press, II, Hinsdale.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erickson GB and Block SS (1999) Testability of a color vision screening test in a population with mental retardation. Journal of the American Optometric Association 70 (12), 758–763.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eroglu SA, Machleit KA and Davis LM (2001) Atmospheric qualities of online retailing: a conceptual model and implications. Journal of Business Research 54 (November), 177–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eroglu SA, Machleit KA and Davis LM (2003) Empirical testing of a model of online store atmospherics and shopper responses. Psychology & Marketing 20 (2), 139–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck MW (1976) Arousal, learning, and memory. Psychological Bulletin 83, 389–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Maloigne C (2004) Quelle métrique pour l’évaluation de la qualité couleur d’une image numérique? Application à la compression JPEG2000. CAM Conférence, Paris, Octobre.

  • Filser M (1994) Le comportement du consommateur. Précis Dalloz, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Filser M (2003a) Le marketing sensoriel: la quête de l’intégration théorique et managériale. Revue Française du Marketing 194 (4/5), 5–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Filser M (2003b) Vingt ans de recherches en comportement du consumer. In Sociétés, Consommation et Consommateurs (Rmy, Garabuau-Moussaoui I, Desjeux D and Filser M, Eds), pp 15–20, L’Harmattan, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forgeas JP (1999) Network theories and beyond. In Handbook of Cognition and Emotion (Dalgleish T and Power MJ, Eds), pp 591–612, Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner MP (1985) Mood states and consumer behavior: a critical review. Journal of Consumer Research 12 (3), 281–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gefen D, Karahanna E and Straub DW (2003) Trust and TAM in online shopping: an integrated model. MIS Quarterly 1 (27), 51–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorn G, Chattopadhyay A, Sengupta J and Tripathi S (2004) Waiting for the web: how screen color affects time perception. Journal of Marketing Research 41 (2), 215–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorn G, Chattopadhyay A, Yi T and Dahl DW (1997) Effects of color as an executional cue in advertising: they’re in the shade. Management Science 43 (10), 1387–1400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall RH and Hanna P (2003) The impact of web page text-background color combinations on readability, retention, aesthetics, and behavioral intention. Behavior and Information Technology 23 (3), 183–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton M and Luo R (1999) Impact of animation and color complexity on web site effectiveness. Working Paper, pp 1–10, Department of Communication Sciences, University of Connecticut.

  • Hampton-Sosa W and Koufaris M (2005) The effect of web site perceptions on initial trust in the owner company. International Journal of Electronic Commerce 10 (1), 55–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson WA (2000) Principles of Internet Marketing. South-Western College Publishers, Cincinnati, OH.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill A and Scharff LV (1997) Readability of websites with various foreground/background color combinations, font types and word styles. Proceedings of 11th National Conference in Undergraduate Research 2, 742–746.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill A and Scharff LV (1999) Readability of computer displays as a function of color, saturation, and background texture. Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics (Harris D, Ed), 4, 123–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard JA (1994) Buyer Behavior in Marketing Strategy. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humar I, Gradisar M and Turk T (2008) The impact of colors on the speed of reading web pages on a CRT monitor. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 38 (11–12), 885–899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isen AM, Shalker TE, Clark M and Karp L (1978) Affect, accessibility of material in memory, and behavior: a cognitive loop. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 36, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Itten J (1970) The Elements of Color. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolibert A and Jourdan P (2006) Marketing Research, Méthodes de recherche et d’études en marketing. Dunod, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang K-S and Corbitt B (2001) Effectiveness of graphical components in web site e-commerce application – a cultural perspective. Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries 7 (2), 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim D, Ferrin DL and Rao HR (2008) A trust-based consumer decision-making model in electronic commerce: the role of trust, perceived risk, and their antecedents. Decision Support Systems 44 (2), 544–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiritani Y and Shirai S (2003) Effects of background colors on user's experience in reading website, 6th Asian Design Conference Program, 14–17 October, p 64, Tsukuba International Congress Center.

  • Kotler P (1973) Atmospherics as a marketing tool. Journal of Retailing 49 (4), 48–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koyani S, Bailey R and Nall P (2006) Research-based web design and usability guidelines. [WWW document] www.usability.gov (accessed 2 April 2004).

  • Ladwein R (1999) Le comportement du consommateur et de l’acheteur. Economica, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanthony P (2005) La perception des couleurs sur écran. Intervention dans le cadre d’un séminaire sur la couleur, 3C S.A., Abbaye de Royaumont – France, Juin.

  • Lee S and Koubek RJ (2010) The effects of usability and web design attributes on user preference for e-commerce web sites. Computers in Industry 61 (4), 329–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lemoine J-F (2003) Vers une approche globale de l’atmosphère du point de vente. Revue Française du Marketing 194 (September), 83–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemoine J-F (2008) L’influence de l’atmosphère des sites web marchands sur les réponses des internautes. 24ème congrès international de l’association française du marketing, Paris, 15 et 16 mai 2008, CDRom.

  • Lichtlé M-C (2007) The effect of an advertisement's colour on emotions evoked by an ad and attitude towards the ad: The moderating role of the optimal stimulation level. International Journal of Advertising 26 (1), 32–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichtlé M-C (2009) Pour favoriser la mémorisation d’une marque, un annonceur a-t-il intérêt à utiliser des couleurs étonnantes? Laboratoire d’économie et de gestion UMR CNRS 5118, Cahiers de Recherche 05-02.

  • Maguire M (2011) Guidelines on website design and colour selection for international acceptance. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Part I) 6769, 162–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandel N and Johnson EJ (2002) When web pages influence choice: effects of visual primes on experts and novices. Journal of Consumer Research 29 (2), 235–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masters J and Wyndol F (1976) Effects of affective states on noncontingent outcome expectancies and beliefs in internal or external control. Developmental Psychology 12 (5), 481–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mattelart A (1996) The Invention of Communication. University Minnesota Press, London/Minneapolis, MN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer JD and Gaschke YN (1988) The experience and meta-experience of mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 55 (1), 102–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCracken DD and Wolfe RJ (2004) User-centered Website Development: A Human–Computer Interaction Approach. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehrabian A and Russell JA (1974) An Approach to Environmental Psychology. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moe WW and Fader PS (2004) Dynamic conversion behavior at e-commerce sites. Management Science 50 (3), 326–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moss G, Gunn R and Heller J (2006) Some men like it black, some women like it pink: consumer involvements of differences in male and female website design. Journal of Consumer Behavior London, 5 (4), 328–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mucchielli A (1991) Les méthodes qualitatives. Que sais-je? Presses Universitaires de France, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munsell A (1969) The Munsell Colour Atlas. Munsell Color Corp, Baltimore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen J (2000) Designing Web Usability. New Riders Publishers, Indianapolis, IN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odom AS and Sholtz SS (2004) The reds, whites, and blues of emotion: examining color hue effects on mood tones. Department of psychology, Missouri Western State University.

  • Ojanpää H and Näsänen R (2003) Effects of luminance and colour contrast on the search of information on display devices. Displays 24, 167–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Shaughnessy J (1992) Explaining Buyer Behavior: Central Concepts and Philosophy of Science Issues. Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pantin-Sohier G (2004) Le rôle de la couleur dans la perception des traits de personnalité de la marque: une étude comparative Etats-Unis/Suède. 1ère journée de recherche AFM-AUDENCIA sur le Marketing et le Design – Janvier.

  • Papachristos E, Tselios N and Avouris N (2005) Inferring relations between color and emotional dimensions of a web site using Bayesian networks. Proceedings of Interact 2005 IFIP TC13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction; Rome, 12–16 September, Vol. 3585, pp. 1075–1078, Springer, Berlin.

  • Pew Research Center (2010) Millennials. Pew Research Center, 24 February. Available at: [WWW document] http://pewresearch.org/millennials/.

  • Ridpath C, Treviranus J and Weiss PLT (2000) Testing the readability of web page colors. University of Toronto's Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, WWW9 conference in Amsterdam [WWW document] http://www.aprompt.ca/WebPageColors.html (accessed 5 April 1999).

  • Rotter JB (1966) Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs 80 (1), Whole no. 609.

  • Roullet B (2004) L’influence de la couleur en marketing: vers une neuropsychologie du consommateur. Thèse de doctorat en sciences économiques et de gestion, Université de Rennes 1, Rennes, décembre.

  • Scharff LV and Ahumada (2002) Predicting the readability of transparent text. Journal of Vision 2 (9), 653–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharff LV and Hill AL (2000) Discriminability measures for predicting readability of text on textured backgrounds. Optics Express 6 (4), 81–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt KE and Liu Y (2005) Design of consumer product webpages: experimental investigations of aesthetic and performance factors. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, pp 1743–1746.

  • Silverstein LD (1987) Human factors for color display system: concepts, methods, and research. In Color and the Computer (Durret J, Ed.), pp 27–61, Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh N and Baack DW (2004) Web site adaptation: a cross-cultural comparison between U.S. and Mexican web sites. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication 9 (4).

  • Singh N, Dalal N and Spears N (2005) Understanding web home page perception. European Journal of Information Systems 14, 288–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • So S and Smith M (2002) Colour graphics and task complexity in multivariate decision making. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15 (4), 565–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swinyard WR (1993) The effects of mood, involvement and quality of store experience on shopping intentions. Journal of Consumer Research 20, 271–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torkzadeh G and Dhillon G (2002) Measuring factors that influence success of internet commerce. Information Systems Research 13 (2), 187–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trouvé A (1999) La mesure de la couleur (Cetim, Ed), Association française de normalisation (AFNOR), Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdez P and Mehrabian J (1994) Effects of color on emotions. Journal of Experimental Psychology General 123 (4), 394–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wat-C (2005) Tools – colour contrast analyser 1.1. Retrieved from the Web Accessibility Tools Consortium Web Site: [WWW document] http://www.wat-c.org/tools/CCA/1.1 (accessed 2 March 2008).

  • W3C (2008) Publication Version 1.1 of the AccessiWeb repository created by the W3C. 9 June [WWW document] http://www.w3c.org/ (accessed 2 March 2008).

  • Westbrook R (1980) Intrapersonal affective influences on consumer satisfaction with products. Journal of Consumer Research 7 (1), 49–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wexner LB (1954) The degree to which colors (hues) are associated with mood-tones. Journal of Applied Psychology 6, 432–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu C-S, Cheng F-F and Yen DC (2008) The atmospheric factors of online storefront environment design: an empirical experiment in Taiwan. Information & Management 45 (7), 493–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo B and Donthu N (2001) Developing and validating multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale. Journal of Business Research 52 (1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zickuhr K (2010) Generations Online in 2010. Pew Internet & American Life Project, Pew Research Center.

  • Zuckerman M (1994) Behavioral Expressions and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nantes University, Nantes, France

    Jean-Éric Pelet

  2. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Panagiota Papadopoulou

Authors
  1. Jean-Éric Pelet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Panagiota Papadopoulou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean-Éric Pelet.

Appendices

Appendix A

Table A1

Table A1 Devices and installation required to conduct the experiment properly
Full size table

Appendix B

Figure B1

Figure B1
figure 6

Experiment website screenshots for the eight color schemes.

Full size image

Appendix C

Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS) – (Mayer & Gaschke, 1988)

22BThe scale is based on the question Do you feel _______? for each of the 16 items shown below. Each item was measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 – ‘Definitely do not feel’ to 5 – ‘Definitely feel’.

Table C1.

Table 14 Table C1
Full size table

Appendix D

Table D1

Table D1 Buying intention scale (Yoo & Donthu, 2001)
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pelet, JÉ., Papadopoulou, P. The effect of colors of e-commerce websites on consumer mood, memorization and buying intention. Eur J Inf Syst 21, 438–467 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2012.17

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2012.17

Keywords

Search

Navigation