An exciting new study from Rehrig Pacific (www.rehrigpacific.com) and Clemson University emphasizes the importance of secondary packaging appearance in gaining and holding customer attention, buyer behaviors that retailers are finding increasingly important, given that more and more purchase decisions are made at the point of purchase by consumers.
According to an ongoing study by POPAI, Point of Purchase Advertising International, over three-quarters (76%) of shoppers make their purchasing decisions in-store (2012). Furthermore, the study notes, the single greatest factor in that decision making process is in-store marketing at the point of purchase.
With this trend in mind, the following hypothesis was investigated by the research partnership: A unique secondary package design with on-message, brand building color and graphics can lift brand awareness and increase purchase intent when integrated into in-store marketing campaigns.
The study pitted a standard reusable soft drink shell or crate against a new proprietary reusable crate manufactured for the study, one that exactly matched the bottle label and which included a multi-color logo of a major US beverage producer.
Testing was conducted using state-of-the-art eye tracking hardware and the CUshopTM, a full immersion consumer retail experience laboratory. Data captured from 89 study participants indicates a strong preference for the product display incorporating the new branded reusable crate.
Statistical analysis demonstrates a 47 percent increase in eye fixations on the branded display and an increase in fixation duration of 34 percent, a measure of how long consumers looked at the display. The conclusion is that packaging presentation influences customer response. To read the complete Rehrig Pacific white paper, click here.