Like any consumer-driven area, packaging and labels are also subject to trends that all brands need to take heed of. As trends evolve, it’s important to stay abreast of what consumers want to see, so your brand can remain relevant. So that you can maximise your brand’s success, we’ve compiled 4 fast-growing trends that are changing the way customers interact with products and packaging.
Personalisation
Giving consumers the chance to customise products has the potential to create a new source of revenue. Due to technological advancements, it is now possible to personalise a huge variety of packaging – ranging from Nutella jars to HP sauce bottles to Coca Cola cans. This customisation allows customers to put their mark on the brand, engaging them on a more personal level, and changing their expectations for packaging to deliver a wholly new experience.
Cleaner and clearer labels
For aesthetic and informational reasons, consumers are now demanding that the labelling on their food and drinks packaging is utterly clear and concise. When trying to choose which products to buy, consumers don’t want packaging to be overloaded with messages; they want the most important information—such as ingredients and nutritional value, function and safety—to be communicated to them in ways that are visibly clear and easy to understand so that they can make informed purchasing without confusion.
Appealing to the senses
Aside from being relevant in the modern day, there are so many benefits to having different sensory elements being integrated into packaging. Of course, the visual element of packaging is what customers interact with first, and can sometimes be strongly influential in terms of choosing which product to buy. However, many experts define touch as the most arousing of human senses, with consumer neuroscience showing that the activity of the orbitofrontal cortex is also related to our willingness to buy, and even more importantly, a willingness to pay a higher price.
Packaging mobilisation
As mobile technology allows for more information to be communicated, mobile-engaged packaging is on the up. As this information is communicated in both simple and smart ways, the vast majority of consumers are now being presented information via WIFI, Bluetooth and near-field communication (NFC). Beverage company Diageo has introduced NFC technology onto printed labels on liquor bottles. This technology works by sending signals over a short distance and thus can wirelessly speak to consumers’ smartphones.
Packaging is such an integral part of selling a product. It has to be attractive, clear, concise and have the customer’s desires in mind. Why not try incorporating some personalisation or mobilisation next time you’re thinking of a product packaging design? Or perhaps you just need to adopt some more white space, to make your message stronger. Whatever technique you employ, keep these 4 trends for packaging at the forefront of your mind.
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Category: Articles & Handy Tips
