What motivates shoppers to go to the supermarket?
Well mostly it seems, it just to buy a small number of items on a day to day basis (62% of all shopping trips, according to Unilever’s 2004 US study – Trip Management - The Next Big Thing), these shoppers are quick and determined, they know exactly what they want and enter the supermarket, hopefully knowing where to get it.
But, Herb Sorensen in his book “Inside the Mind of the Shopper” (Wharton School Publishing), seems to suggest that most supermarkets ignore this fact and instead, design their stores for the shoppers who need to “stock-up” (which the Unilever study identifies to be only 13% of shopping trips). It does make it appear like supermarkets are deliberately trying to fight against the will of the quick trip shopper (who are remember, 62% of shoppers!), by burying essentials all over the shop, putting as many obstacles as they can in front of them in order to try to make them visit the whole store!
Old style merchandising only adds to the shopper’s frustration (this is where supermarkets move essentials around the store from one week to another), forcing the shopper to go on search expeditions, rather than helping them to shop efficiently. The end result is a shopper rushing through the store focussed mostly on, only what they search for, becoming stressed out and frustrated and trying to get to the cash desk and out of the store as quickly as possible. But despite all the supermarket’s efforts to make shoppers ‘walk the store’, most quick trip shoppers (more than 50%), will not visit,or will skip over sections of the store that don’t interest them. Clearly, there are some issues here that supermarkets need to reflect on, but the question that this type of shopping behaviour poses for me, is…
…what does all this mean for brand and packaging design?
Today packaging has become one of, if not, the most effective components of ‘shopper’ or ‘in-store’ marketing, and because of this many brands are putting greater emphasis on Shopper Marketing and therefore, their packaging. Because, with less and less opportunities for brands to create in-store promotions, packaging is fast becoming ‘the’ most efficient way for a brand to get noticed.
Going back to Unilever’s figures (62% of the shoppers who only focus on quick tips), it makes sense, that with this type of shopping behaviour, the chances of a brand being seen in store is becoming more and more difficult. The now famous Dupont study of the 1970’s calculated that on average a pack had about 6 seconds to be seen, but with the growth of supermarkets and the changing patterns of shopping, that figure has to be a lot less today!
It is my belief that brands need to start to think differently, to abandon the old thinking that you create and promote a brand and shoppers will come to you. Instead, brands need to try figure out how they can help the quick trip shopper majority, by making their brands easier to find with better stand-out and the ability to be understood in an instant.
This, for me means, brands need to first consider what shoppers “do” and then design from their point of view, taking into account what I call, “their” 3 pillars of the shopping moment:
1 Finding what I want
2 Understanding what I’m buying and being convinced it’s what I want
3 Being reassured that I’ve made the right choice
1 Finding what I want
If you focus on the shopper’s needs, they start with the need to “find” the product they want, this process usually starts at somedistance from the shelf, whilst the shopper is moving through the aisle looking for, first the category, and then the brand. It’s essential therefore, that brands understand the shelf they are on, and that they find ways to be, at the same time, part of the category, but also distinctive and memorable within it. Simplicity, contrast and readability are key here, shoppers need to be able to identify their brand and product type immediately, and this can only be achieved by adopting a clear communication strategy, a distinctive design structure, a unique colour (or colouring), straightforward imagery and always strong confident branding. The objective, in this first moment, is to be seen, identified and to be clear about who and what you are, that’s all!
Your package needs to “help the shopper find your brand” and to attract them to it, clearly in this situation, over complication of messages, (too much text or trying to say too much on the front panels), is the enemy of impactful packaging. With most shoppers in a hurry, they will be looking for visual solutions that are quick and easy to understand!
2 Understanding what I’m buying and being convinced it’s what I want
In the “second moment”, your package will have a different role, having stopped (or slowed), the shopper; you will now need to explain your offer (or perhaps you have a range of offers). Because, at this point in the process the shopper knows which section they are in, the role of the package now has a different function to perform; to show your product at it’s best, explaining what it is, what it does in a direct and clear way. The shopper’s eye should find the pack simple and quick to read, with the minimal of eye movement - avoiding “eye wandering” that risks taking a shopper’s eye to the pack next door – this involves understanding how focal points work, creating a clean and correct hierarchy of information, but without adding complication. If you do have a range of offers, make sure that product changes are easy and for the consumer to understand, be consistent and as always, remain simple.
3 Being reassured that I’ve made the right choice
If your package has managed to past the test of the first two stages of the shopping moment, you will now have the shopper’s attention, so, here’s the moment to help their choice along. At this point the shopper is right in front of your package (perhaps they have even picked it off the shelf), but they are close enough up to it now to see the finer details, the quality of the illustration or diagram, little garnish that adds to appetite appeal, the symbol or text that promises a benefit etc…. The objective here is to make sure the shopper is reassured of the great qualities of your product and the benefits it will bring to them, so that they can make the final act of the shopping moment – putting the pack into their basket!
Just as the shopping process is a moving and 3 dimensional act, so the package is also a 3 dimensional medium, with the package now in the shopper’s hand the other panels of your package also become very important. Too often packaging is designed as a “front panel” only (in some cases major brands have even used different /cheaper, studios to create the other panels, or POS materials, in an effort to save costs), but it seems to me that when you accept the importance of the package in Shopper Marketing, this practice seems like shooting yourself in the foot, as a brand should always be consistently presented across all sides of a package and across all media!
For the shopper, the package is not only a “facing on the supermarket shelf” but, part of the product they buy, and subsequently, part of the brand itself. They will take into their homes, they may well see and touch it regularly, or use it every day, elevating the package’s role to being the everyday ambassador of the brand.
The other panels of the package are important because they offer reassurance; they allow the brand to connect with consumers and to enhance the product experience. This is why the same amount of attention needs to be paid to the rest of the package as brands normally do to the front panel, by working on the design of each surface to be sure to holistically express the brand’s personality and positioning. Going beyond imagery, it also means creating great copy that is not stuffy, but developed in a way that it makes the brand “come alive” and is relevant to the consumer.
Once you think your package has achieved the correct impact across the three pillars of the shopping moment, take this thinking one step further, think about testing your package “in-store” (where the package has to work), and equally, once again think holistically, and test the whole pack, not just the front!
The realisation by retailers and brands of the effectiveness of Shopper Marketing has pushed the package to the forefront of customer communication; packaging now has a crucial role, catching the consumer’s attention, representing the brand (in store and in use), as well as building consumer confidence and loyalty. By changing the way we think, and designing “for the consumer and the new realities of the retail environment”, packaging’s effectiveness can only get better and its’ importance only grow, clearly, the future role of packaging, both in-store and in the home, is to become the ‘not so’ silent salesman.
Rowland Heming©
...and it's all over in a matter of seconds!
See also: http://rhpkg.wordpress.com
