Product packaging offers an ultimate opportunity for brands to connect & communicate their story in the most appealing manner possible for better positioning and recall value. The modern consumer never falls short of alternatives. In a typical 30-minute shopping spree at a supermarket, there could be as much as 20,000 items competing to attract & impress the shopper. With such nerve perplexing competition, product packaging seems to be that last-ditch effort to influence customers and impact their buying behavior.
Buyers often are purely intuitive and go by the look of the package. On-the-spur decision making about choosing among alternatives is influenced by product perceptions shaped by the packaging design, color, shape, functionality, and familiarity of the location, brand awareness, consumer personality, lifestyle, culture and other factors like:
- Spontaneous urge: Consumers are more likely to be attracted by brightly packed SKUs on display
- Compulsion: Some packaging designs trigger urgent buying desires
- Excitement: Packaging can evoke feelings of curiosity and excitement compelling the consumer to buy the package
Packaging is to a very large extent responsible for the product to get noticed on the shelf. As such, marketers need to integrate all types of buying influences onto the package. Biomotive triggers are used on designs of flexible packaging as certain graphic elements trigger an instinctive response from the consumers. This neuro-marketing strategy targets the emotions and not reason. For example, a cusp shape is likely to convey fear, caution or intimidation; while curves spell softness and comfort in packages. Understanding such cues can help packaging designers connect better with the consumers at the cognitive and emotional level and help sell more products.
A good design should echo the brand philosophy and its personality. The brand should be clear about its USP and its raison d’être. Effective packaging can help convey what the brand is, who it is, how it is relevant in the life of the buyer. Distinctive packaging can help shoppers navigate through the crowd for their favorite brand. Colors, shape, logos, imagery all play a part in attracting the customer.
While the urge or need to buy a particular product can be influenced through other channels like offline or online advertising and social media, packaging is certainly the final point of communication which clinches the deal between the shelf and the shopping bag.
India’s largest global flexible packaging company UFlex offers technologically superior packaging for a wide variety of products. It stands committed to the industry by providing the technical know-how, establishing thought leadership and being the trend-setter in the flexible packaging industry. Innovation to create value added differentiation has been a time tested formula attributable to UFlex market leadership. UFlex ensures that its packaging solutions are aesthetically appealing, functionally superior, eco-friendly, offer the optimized barrier properties and provide adequate protection to the brands from counterfeits and look a likes. A unique interplay of all these factors in all its product offerings has undeniably made UFlex, ‘A part of your daily life’ and has been shaping consumer behavior.
