Can Packaging Make a Customer Buy Your Product?

Package design is a critical element in convincing consumers to choose your product over others on the physical or virtual shelf. Every packaging design decision — from color, to text, to package shape, to package materials — has an impact on your consumers’ buying decisions, so it’s important to determine what aspects of a package’s design will most influence customers to buy your product.

Packaging affects buyers’ behaviors

MeadWestvaco (MWV) found in its 2014 Packaging Matters study that packaging plays a role in all three phases of the purchasing process: Trial, Repeat, and Switch. The study concluded the following:

• Trial — 64% of consumers have been influenced to try a new product or brand because they were attracted by the packaging.
• Repeat — 41% of consumers have made repeat purchases of a product or brand because of packaging.
• Switch — 36% of consumers have switched products or brands because they had negative experiences with new packaging.

The MWV study also found that package design can influence consumer behaviors beyond purchasing. Many consumers reported that a product’s packaging had influenced them to research it online, write an online review mentioning the packaging, develop a social media relationship with a product or brand, or post something about the product on a social media platform. The research showed a strong link between package design and the way consumers connect and interact with the overall brand.

Consider all aspects of package design

Designing your package for maximum consumer influence involves bringing together the right combination of elements; such as color, font, graphics, and text description of the product. A visually compelling package design will draw consumers’ attention to the product on the shelf and also may induce them to spend more time looking at the product — both of which are behaviors that can influence a person’s decision to buy. In a Finnish study of milk packaging, researchers determined that design elements like color, graphics, and product information played a key role in capturing consumers’ attention as well as impacting buying decisions.

When designing a product’s packaging, don’t overlook additional factors, such as the package’s shape, size, and texture. A recent study of bottled water containers found that the thickness of the bottle had a direct influence on consumers’ perception of quality as well as the value and reliability of the overall brand. This perception played an important role in building relationships between the brand and the consumer.

Packaging weighs heavily in a customer’s decision to buy a product, particularly one the customer has never tried before. Whether you’re launching a new product or want to draw new customers to an existing product, give thought and care to creating packaging that will catch customers’ eye and leave them with a favorable impression of the product.

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