Decoding Consumer Behavior: Unveiling the Power of Package Design

Nature’s Way, a leading vitamin company, delves into the world of eye-tracking technology, collaborating with Quad, a global marketing experience company, to revamp the packaging of its Alive! multivitamin brand. In the fiercely competitive health and beauty category, the study explores the impact of matte versus gloss varnish on consumer perception.

 

Unlocking Consumer Insights

 

Quad's Packaging InSight and Technology teams employ a comprehensive approach, blending quantitative and qualitative data to provide a holistic view of package design success. Mobile eye tracking, facial coding, and brain activation technology form the foundation of quantitative data collection. Simultaneously, traditional surveys and interviews capture qualitative insights, creating a powerful synergy for clients like Nature’s Way.

 

Design: A Decisive Factor

 

Jennifer Hickman, Quad's head of strategy for health, emphasizes that packaging transcends mere regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical industry. A well-designed package, she notes, influences both conscious and unconscious consumer decisions. On the conscious side, the design reinforces brand promises, while the unconscious side demands primary research to decode consumer behavior in simulated environments.

Shannon Anderson, Package InSight's client research manager, highlights the transformative impact of package design on sales. New design elements can catapult a product ahead of the competition, demonstrating the profound influence of packaging on consumer choices.

 

Eye-tracking Technology in Action

 

Quad's approach involves gathering cohorts of at least 30 individuals, ensuring a normalized dataset with 95% confidence. In their simulated store labs, equipped with Tobii Pro Glasses 3, participants explore the shelves unaware of the study's focus. Eye-tracking becomes the key tool, recording movements at 50 times per second with remarkable accuracy. This real-time observation allows the Package InSight team to understand how consumers engage with the packaging.

 

Analyzing Consumer Behavior

 

The Tobii glasses' embedded cameras capture inward and outward movements, overlaying them with a still picture of the shelf. This meticulous process enables precise mapping of eye movements and product engagement. Gaze points, determined by the time spent on a product or label, offer crucial insights. Quantitative data answers the 'what,' while qualitative data explains the 'why,' establishing a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior.

 

The study's conclusion involves online surveys or in-depth interviews, unveiling the study's focus and extracting qualitative data. By dissecting both quantitative and qualitative data, Quad empowers clients like Nature’s Way to make informed decisions about package design, ultimately influencing consumer choices on the shelf.