Persuasive colours for trust in E-commerce: Dutch blue or Russian red?

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the effects of web store colours (blue or red) on e-commerce. Specifically, a comparison is made between consumers from two cultures: Dutch and Russian. They participated in an experimental survey and expressed their trust in a web store and their intention to purchase a low-involvement product (a laptop sleeve). The results showed that initial trust and cultural background seem to influence online purchase intention. Higher levels of initial trust were related to higher purchase intentions. Interestingly, where the more uncertainty-avoidant Russian consumers trusted the web store, the Dutch consumers were more likely to purchase the product, regardless of the colour they were exposed to. It is recommended to unravel the degree of localisation of web stores’ atmosphere in global e-commerce. Consumers from different cultural backgrounds might not feel and behave the same in a differently coloured, online retail environment.

KEYWORDS:

• E-commerce
• marketing
• trust
• colour
• consumer behaviour
• cross-cultural

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Broeder

Peter Broeder is affiliated with the Department of Communication and Cognition at the Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He investigates socio-psycholinguistic aspects of intercultural online marketing communications and consumer behaviour.

Lisanne van Doremalen

Lisanne van Doremalen is working in the field of marketing and communication in both digital and traditional media.