How Merchandise Designers Use Color to Drive Sales

Merchandising is rarely a strategic exercise of color. But there’s a good reason for that: color plays such a fundamental…

Merchandising is rarely a strategic exercise of color. But there’s a good reason for that: color plays such a fundamental role in a shelf, and how we use it matters so much.

Shelves of the same products with colors used to their best advantage feel more organized and are likely to drive higher sales than those not utilizing them to their best advantage.


Colors Work Before People Think

Our first reaction to an object or space is always about the color we see before we think about what we are seeing. That is why products with stronger colors stand out first, no matter how crowded that shelf or store may be.


Organize Your Shelves By Color

Using colors to organize your shelving creates a visual order and clarity. Using color to organize your shelf can reduce confusion and help customers move through your products naturally and effortlessly.


Use Contrast Effectively

Contrast and Color: Using colors effectively can also help organize or de-clutter a shelf space to help drive people’s attention where you want it. Too much contrast, however, can become chaos.


How Color Impacts Customers

There are emotional qualities of color that influence people.


Colors That Are Consistent

Your color plan and strategy should use colors consistently, not necessarily using many different colors.


The Importance of Color In Merchandise Design

Shelving is a visual medium that affects how we perceive our environments. Using colors well organizes, clarifies, and attracts our attention to a shelf in a store.