Importance of the packaging for the purchasing decision
The packaging is essential for the consumers purchasing decision since it’s normally the first product feature the consumer notices. For 45% of consumers it’s the packaging that actually is the main reason to repeat purchase. What exactly is packaging? Well, it can be defined packaging as “… the detachable, complete or partial enclosure of a good …”. First of all, it has the primary function to protect the item. Production, logistics and marketing also necessitate a variety of other functions that the packaging must have, which ultimately define the properties that the packaging must have. In terms of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and marketing packaging can be a powerful instrument with outstanding likeability and motivation values in the communication mix. Therefore the following questions are important for businesses: what wishes do consumers have regarding packaging? What features should a package have from the consumer’s perspective? How do these differ depending on the different target groups we aim our product at?
Consumer preferences about packaging
Consumers want products and packaging which are precisely tailored to their individual needs. This is understandable, however sometimes not so easy to successfully bring to the market. The range of wants and desires of the consumer can be very large and varied. Also different target groups emphasize different aspects that they want and desire in how the product should be packaged. While 93% of consumers aged between 25-35 years wanted original packing, consumers aged over 60, above all wanted packaging that was easy to find and quickly recognizable. It’s not only the products emotional characteristics that separate the ideas of the younger and the older groups apart. If we now consider the functional properties of the packaging, 76% of the 60+ group of consumers found it particularly important that the information on the packaging should be easily legible. Whereas this was the case for only 5% of consumers aged between 25 and 35. A very similar pattern between the two age groups was also seen in the case for ease of opening of the packaging. This characteristic was particularly important for 72% of 60 + consumers, but only important for 11% of younger group. Packaging should ideally meet the needs of all target groups. Companies and packaging manufacturers have the challenge to find solutions which integrate the different requirements of various target groups.
