The Effect of Colour Contrast on Consumers' Attentive Behaviours and Perception of Fresh Produce

Abstract

SUMMARY The market for fruits and vegetables has received considerable interest in recent years, with much of its growth attributed to consumer interest in nutrition and health. Quality has been indicated to be the most important factor in produce sales, and appearance is of noted significance with regard to perceived quality. The broad objectives of this research were to identify the impact of simultaneous colour contrast (i.e. the produce viewed through a mesh bag) on (a) attentive behaviours as measured by eye tracking and (b) perceived quality, visual appeal and purchase intention as measured with a Likert scale. To accomplish these objectives, six different types of produce (red apples, oranges, lemons, green apples, purple onions and white onions) were photographed with four differently coloured mesh treatments: the same (as the produce), complementary, complementary‐analogous and analogous. Visual stimuli were then presented during the eye tracking study and in a subsequent questionnaire. Colour contrast was found to have a significant effect on both resultant eye tracking variables [number of visual fixations ( p < 0.001) and time spent ( p < 0.001)]. Produce shown with mesh of the same, or an analogous colour, induced significantly more visual fixations and more time than those depicted with complementary or complementary‐analogous treatments. Subsequent to the eye tracking study, subjects were shown the stimuli and asked to rate the expected quality, visual appeal and their purchase intention for the 24 photographs (6 types of produce × 4 colour contrasts) by using a Likert scale. Pairwise comparisons suggested that produce packaged in the same or analogous mesh were perceived by subjects to be of higher quality, more visually appealing and evoked a higher level of purchase intention than those packaged in complementary or complementary‐analogous mesh ( α = 0.05). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.