How to Choose the Best Paint Colors for a Retail Store

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Did you know that the color schemes for retail stores can significantly impact the mindset of your customers? Whether you’re using paint colors for retail stores to energize the consumer or make them feel calm, the color scheme you choose is more than just an aesthetic decision.

Depending on what you’re selling at your store, showroom paint colors can be used to set the tone and invoke specific emotions in your customers. Whether you’re opening up a new boutique or are finally following your dream of opening a spa, there’s a paint color to match.

To help you find the right retail service for your store, we are exploring some retail store paint color ideas to help you select the correct pigment for your location. Let’s dive right in!

Why Color Matters in Retail Store Interior Design

You are wondering if shop paint colors matter for retail stores? The numbers speak for themselves.

73% of decisions to purchase are made in-store.
Subconscious judgments by customers are made within 90 seconds of entering your location.
When it comes to first impressions, 62%-90% are based on color.
If shoppers do not like the aesthetics of your store, 52% say they will not return.
93% of decisions to purchase are made based on visual impressions.
Color ads are read 42% more than black and white when it comes to advertisements.

Boutique paint colors play a significant role, but there are also a few ways the colors you choose will indirectly affect your brand.

The color choices you make can increase brand recognition by as much as 80%
The color boosts memory by adding an extra stimulus for the brain.

From warm and cool colors to calming or invigorating hues, there are a lot of benefits to exploring the best colors for a retail showroom to not only set the tone but increase sales too.

Your Target Customer

When exploring the retail store color psychology, much of your focus should be on your target customer. You want to attract your ideal customer base, not only drawing them into your store but enticing them to purchase more. To do this, your showroom paint colors should appeal to both the age and gender of your typical shopper, better appealing to their unique preferences.

To help you find your right shade, here are a few retail store paint color ideas to assist in your selection.

Choose black, royal blue, or reddish-orange colors if your store is a good spot for impulse purchases.
If your typical customer is budget-conscious, opt for teal and blue colors.
If your ideal customers are primarily women, you can rely on blue, yellow, and orange shades. Avoid shades of green, brown, or gray.
On the other hand, if your customers are primarily male, embrace the blue, green, and black tones. For this consumer, we recommend avoiding purples, oranges, and browns.
Choose more subtle shades like baby blue, pale pink, and other pastel pigments when selling baby-related products.

Age Group of the Customers

Your target customer’s age can also help lead you to the best colors for retail sales.

While this is an impactful consideration, if your store appeals to a wide range of customers of all ages, this won’t be a factor you’ll want to spend too much time on.

If your store does have a specific age demographic, here are a few tips to find the best color for your retail store.

Teens and younger shoppers prefer bold, vibrant colors.
Older, mature, and elderly shoppers lean towards softer, subtle hues.

The Size of the Store

When choosing the paint colors for retail stores, a final consideration is a size.

If your store is tiny, opting for lighter shades to brighten the space and make it feel more open is your best bet. However, if you have a wide-open store with high ceilings, painting the ceiling a darker shade can help elevate your space without making it feel smaller.

What Colors Attract Customers to Buy?

Okay, we know what’s most important to new store owners - what are the best colors for retail sales?

Now that we know the steps to guide our color consultation, it’s time to understand better the actual shades and how different color schemes for retail stores can help boost sales. Let’s dive right in!

Red

Red is a color that invokes feelings of strength, urgency, and risk. While it doesn’t necessarily spark joy, this color is commonly used in medical facilities to promote that sense of urgency and invoke feelings of strength in workout spaces.

Since this color isn’t always associated with happy emotions, it’s best to use it cautiously. When considering retail store color psychology, red colors cause physiological reactions, including sweating, elevated heart rate, and pupil dilation.
So, is red right for you? If you’re running a store that sells medical products, fitness-related goods, or something particularly innovative, red will be a top choice among shop paint colors.

Blue

You may not have known, but blue shades are touted for their ability to attract more customers and, ultimately, boost revenue. Blue is excellent for creating a safe, zen space, offering feelings of tranquility, calm, and safety.

Due to the serenity blue hues incite, they are an excellent counter-measure for more expensive store locations. This color is often used in stores that sell premium, higher-value products to calm customers as they explore hefty price tags. This will help lessen the psychological impact of the price, ensuring the customer feels calmer as they check out.

Purple

If your store is well-suited for bold shop paint colors, purple is the way to go. Purple paint was associated with royalty in previous years, offering a fierce, intense feeling.

However, this color may not appeal to all customers. Men, in particular, will find purple to be a less appealing retail store painting choice. On the other hand, women will thrive in this store environment, helping them feel bolder while they shop. With this brighter shade, you can help energize your female customers, motivating them to peruse your store a bit longer, and hopefully, make a bigger purchase.

Orange

Another bright, vibrant choice for boutique paint colors, orange, is an eye-catching, exuberant shade that will create a sense of joy and increased energy in your store. With this energetic vibe, orange-toned stores will motivate customers to make faster purchasing decisions, acting at the moment to lock down their new find.

Unlike red, orange appears more vibrant and joyful. When used more for text and logos, orange will show more clearly than its darker counterpart. This makes it fantastic for a range of uses in your store’s branding for a clean, vibrant finish.

Yellow

Yellow is a bright, happy shade that can liven up any storefront.

As one of the best colors for a retail showroom, yellow not only can create a bit of calm and serenity if you opt for a more pale shade but also energize and liven a space when choosing a more saturated pigment. Associated with nature and the sun, yellow will bring a sense of joy to your store, uplifting the customer as they shop around.

Additionally, yellow is a great, bright color in smaller spaces. It will help open up a more petite retail store, making it feel brighter and larger, no matter the actual size.

Black

A deep, dark, moody shade, black is one of the most luxurious, powerful, and elegant shop paint colors you can choose.

While this dark shade may feel imposing, it’s an incredibly versatile hue that can be used as a background or accent wall or as the primary color in your branding and marketing across the store.

Since black is one of the boutique paint colors that invoke a sense of exclusivity, it is most effective in high-end stores that sell pricier items, such as expensive jewelry, perfumes, and even cars.

And black doesn’t just have to be used to create a feeling of luxury. This dark shade is also great for creating a tranquil environment, allowing shoppers to feel as though they can take their time making a purchasing decision. It truly is one of the most diverse retail store painting colors!

Pink

Pink is a vibrant color that can work for various color schemes for retail stores, depending on the shade you choose.

A more bright, rich pink shade is ideal for female shoppers, particularly teenagers attracted to bolder pigments. When used in its darker, brighter shades, pink will energize customers, making them feel excited to make a purchase.

On the other hand, light pink is one of the best retail store paint color ideas for stores that focus on products for babies. This light, calming shade offers a tranquil environment with a pastel hue that attracts parents shopping for their young kids.

Green

When it comes to painting colors for retail stores, green is one of the go-tos when using nature as inspiration. Typically, when looking at a green shade, the first thing that comes to mind is the environment, perfect for more eco-friendly and organic products.

Beyond leading us to think more about nature, green also promotes customers to be more imaginative. This can help inspire them as they shop and explore, envisioning their life with your products and all they have to offer.

Additionally, green symbolizes “go” (yes, we are referencing traffic lights!) With this in mind, green can promote a sense that we need to move forward, thus promoting a more urgent decision-making process.

White

When in doubt, choose white for the color schemes for retail stores.

This simple shade is often underestimated but can do a lot for retail environments. White is a clean, bright shade that can make a space feel wide open and spotless. Often, we see this in stores focused on skincare or more calming environments.

Additionally, white is a go-to choice in smaller spaces to open up a retail environment, taking a claustrophobic space and making it feel more open and inviting. This will help lift a customer’s spirits while engrossing them in a clean, elegant, and aesthetically pleasing, yet simple, environment.

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Steps on Choosing Retail Store Colors

The best colors for retail sales aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. The best color for retail store painting depends on the unique business, goals, and atmosphere you’re looking to provide customers. You likely spend lots of time branding and carefully selecting what you feature in stores, so why not take the same approach when deciding on retail store painting selections?

To help you find the right shade for your store, here are the steps to take.

What’s Your Industry?

The first step to selecting the best colors for a retail showroom is to focus on your specific industry. Based on the type of products you sell and the mood associated with them, you will likely be led to a particular color palette, and it just takes a little attention.

Let’s take a clothing store for children, for example. Likely, the clothes you feature offer light, bright, and pastel colors, and your boutique paint colors can match that aesthetic. However, if you’re setting up a new workout facility, brighter, bolder colors to energize customers are the way to go. And both of these options will be very different from a medical facility’s painting scheme, which often relies on reds, greens, and blues.

Do you have a store that sells a variety of products? No problem, there’s a color scheme for that too. We recommend segmenting your store with different colors to match your products. However, if you’re not interested in color play, opt for a neutral color that lets the products speak for themselves.

Learn Color Psychology

Color psychology is also important. The simplest way to describe this effect is to compare red and green to traffic lights. To many people, red is a negative color that indicates “stop” or “no.” In the same vein, green is often considered a more positive color that means “go” or “yes.”

The principle here is important, but the color red is much more interesting in a retail environment…and we’ll talk about that later in this piece.

Being surrounded by a certain color may dramatically change a person’s mood. Darker, warmer colors encourage people to relax and be cozy, while bold and vibrant colors may indicate to people that they should be active.

The more passive and relaxing a color, the less likely a customer is to take action. The bolder and more positive color, the more likely that customers may consider making a purchase or browsing for longer.

You can use the same effect in staff areas, too, by painting break rooms in more relaxing colors and offices in brighter colors that lift workers’ moods.

Think About Brand

Don’t forget your branding! Most businesses will have already spent a great deal of time choosing colors that look good and embody their vision, and if you’ve already invested time in finding a color that fits your brand, then that same color is likely a good option for your store or other commercial building.

This is important when you’re thinking of store color ideas for both your interior and your exterior. Pick the main color from your branding materials or logo and then choose some other complementary to go with it.

When people see the colors you choose, make them think of your brand!

Conclusion

With so many paint colors for retail stores to choose from, it’s no wonder you feel overwhelmed. However, by following our steps and considering what your store is selling and the emotions you want to invoke, the suitable boutique paint colors for your space will become clear.

Oahu Pro Painters helps retail operations throughout Hawaii maximize sales and create optimum buying environments. For a color consultation, advice, and high-quality commercial painting services, we are your one-stop-shop.