Although customers think that when shopping they focus primarily on the price of the product, its quality and composition, it turns out that they pay no less attention to the appearance of the packaging. How does packaging design influence consumer decisions? Can the right packaging encourage purchase?
Packaging should fulfill a number of practical functions. First of all, they must adequately protect the product and make it easy to store. No less important is also how the packaging looks, as aesthetics and design play a significant role in marketing strategy. Why? In times of an almost unlimited range of products, sellers need to know how to stand out with their goods and encourage their purchase, and there’s no denying that the attention of potential customers is first attracted by the packaging.
The popularity of self-service stores has increased the importance of packaging in the buying process. It is the properly designed packaging that, thanks to its distinctive color and shape, catches the attention of consumers. It fulfills not only an aesthetic and visual function, but also an informative one, as it presents all the necessary information about the product. The messages contained in the packaging often affect the customer much more strongly and longer than, for example, advertising slogans, since the packaging accompanies the consumer throughout the use of the product.
Packaging design is also important in terms of brand identity. A carefully thought-out design, which incorporates the logo and values relevant to the company, becomes a business card. Packaging is therefore a carrier of an image that customers can become convinced of and trust. If customers are not attracted by the packaging, there is little likelihood that they will want to check out what is hidden inside.
Now that we are aware that customers pay attention not only to the composition of the product and its quality, but also to the packaging, let’s see what we should focus on when designing it.
Above all, packaging must stand out with a well-thought-out design in order to effectively catch the attention of a potential customer. The right effect will be achieved if we take care of brand identification already at the stage of designing a distinctive logo. A good solution is to decide on a specific, uniform color scheme, which will be unambiguously associated with the company. Let’s try not to imitate the design of other brands, so as not to duplicate temporarily fashionable patterns.
Packaging is more likely to attract customers’ attention when it is consistent with brand values. For example, most organic products have packaging in colors that relate to nature. They also have no shortage of plant or leaf symbols, as well as signs and labels indicating that the product has not been tested on animals, contains no harmful substances and is environmentally friendly. Consistency with brand values is best achieved with appropriate colors and materials used in the production of the packaging. Original finishes and appropriate decorations can also be used.
main photo: unsplash.com/Engin_Akyurt
