As crucial sensory cues, colors have long attracted attention from marketing scholars and practitioners. Red and blue, two frequently contrasted colors in marketing practice and research, are widely used in advertisements, product packaging, store environments, and brand logos. However, findings regarding their effects on consumer responses remain inconsistent, and little is known about whether these effects differ across attitudinal and behavioral responses. While some studies suggest that blue outperforms red, others report the opposite. This inconsistency raises important questions: Does red or blue have a more positive effect on consumers attitudinal and behavioral responses? Do the effects of red and blue differ between consumers attitudinal responses and behavioral responses? What moderators can explain these differential effects? To address these questions, this meta-analysis examines the differential effects of blue versus red on consumer attitudinal and behavioral responses. Meanwhile, drawing on dual-system processing theory, this study further proposes a four-quadrant moderating framework.
A comprehensive literature search was conducted across EBSCO, Web of Science, Elsevier, and Wiley databases, yielding 49 eligible articles with 154 effect sizes. The sample spanned the U.S., China, the U.K., Japan, and other countries. Two independent coders systematically coded the included studies, recording each study’s basic information, including authors, publication year, journal, effect size information, sample size, and moderator coding. Effect sizes were coded as correlation coefficients or converted from available statistics, such as F values, t values, Cohen’s d, means, and standard errors. Using multilevel hierarchical linear modeling, the present meta-analysis accounted for the nested structure of multiple effect sizes within the same article. Data analysis was performed using the metafor package in R 4.5.2. Prior to the formal analysis, publication bias was assessed using the Fail-Safe Number to ensure the robustness of the findings.
The meta-analysis revealed that blue, compared with red, positively influenced both consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses. Specifically, blue had a stronger effect on attitudinal responses (r = 0.11) than on behavioral responses (r = 0.08). Grounded in dual-system processing theory, this study further developed a four-quadrant framework by classifying moderators into four categories: variables influencing affective processing, variables influencing rational processing, variables influencing both affective and rational processing, and variables influencing neither. In addition, an online experiment was conducted to provide further experimental evidence for the theoretical rationale underlying the meta-analysis.
Theoretically, this study contributes by reconciling inconsistent findings in color psychology research through a meta-analysis of blue versus red effects, revealing that blue has a stronger influence on consumer attitudes than behaviors. The proposed four-quadrant framework extends dual-system processing theory. Practically, the findings suggest that firms may use blue to enhance consumer evaluations, but should not assume that positive attitudes automatically translate into behaviors. Instead, marketers should align color choices with specific objectives and incorporate additional contextual cues when seeking to promote behavioral responses.
