Study proves: packaging boosts sales
Up to 70% of consumers allow packaging to influence part of their purchase decision.
There are many good reasons to produce carton packaging with premium paperboard such as Algro Design from Sappi. Folding boxes made of paperboard not only protect high-grade goods, they are also a significant factor in tipping the scale in the competition at the point of sale. Branded product manufacturers have long since been aware of the power of packaging as an advertising medium – and for the first time a study has now also provided the key figures that prove it.
The goal of the Touchpoint Study conducted by the Pointlogic research institute was to measure the contribution that the folding box makes to a product's marketing success. The study, which was directed by Professor Hans Georg Stolz (University of Mainz, Chairman of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse), recorded all touchpoints of a piece of packaging with consumers during its lifetime. Touchpoints were defined as all channels in which a brand or a product comes in contact with the consumers – for example a radio or TV commercial, an ad, a newsletter or packaging.
Tactile contacts are particularly valuable
It turns out that the packaging is a particularly important touchpoint: it not only establishes strictly visual contact when the consumer sees the packaging at the point of sale, but also tactile contact when he or she picks it up to find out about or use the product. About 70% of the more than 2,000 individuals surveyed stated that they use the packaging as a source of information for their purchase decision in the product groups of tea, over-the-counter medication and nutritional supplements, chocolates and light bulbs.
The impetus for repeat purchasing is also reinforced at home
Touchpoint contacts of packaging have a special quality, because they are limited neither to visual contact nor to the point of sale. The tactile contacts have an especially strong impact because the packaging design, surface quality and size add up to a large number of positive impressions. At home the packaging is particularly prominent: here it is not in competition to other brands, which reinforces the impetus for repeat purchasing.
The head of the study, Professor Stolz, emphasizes: "Touchpoint contacts via packaging compare favorably to other advertising contacts, as the product or brand reaches consumers both in-store and at home and can at the right moment offer both a rational and emotional information and decision trigger for purchase or reuse. That is tactile 'content marketing' at its best".
Crucial factors are design, print and finish – plus the material
The Touchpoint Study moreover concludes that packaging has been underestimated as an advertising and communication medium. Yet it seems obvious how the quality of the communication with the consumer can be improved by way of the paperboard packaging: crucial factors are packaging design, print, finish – and not least, a high-quality material, such as the premium paperboard Algro Design from Sappi. Not only the attention a product draws on the sales shelf or in the online store can be boosted in this way, it can also generate lasting customer loyalty to the brand and the product.
