Marketing online food images via color saturation: A sensory imagery perspective

Restaurants post alluring images of their food offerings on social media and online ordering platforms. However, the marketing literature has offered limited guidance on how consumers process and respond to online food images and effective visual design strategies. From a sensory imagery perspective, this research examines color saturation as a marketing strategy that shapes consumers’ responses to online food images. Findings from two experimental studies demonstrate that food images presented with high (vs. low) color saturation can effectively boost consumers’ purchase intention. Furthermore, the effects of color saturation are influenced by visual distance (distal vs. proximal) and consumption context (solitary vs. social). More specifically, the advantage of high color saturation is attenuated when a food item appears visually proximal or when social consumption is anticipated. Serial mediation analyses suggest that heightened freshness and tastiness perceptions drive the color saturation effect. Visual design strategies for marketing online food images are discussed.