Modern Package Testing

If you are a smaller brand working on a small media budget but have the potential to stand out at shelf due to solid retail distribution and sheer package-billboard size, then making the most of your package design is going to be critical to your success. The trouble with most package design evaluations is that they are highly subjective and they take place in a vacuum - outside the real retail environment in which they are shopped for.

An organization in just this position followed my recommendation to pursue in-market package testing that integrated eye tracking and biometrics. Eye tracking is not really a new technology, but when brought to the clutter, noise, and distractions that are inherent to the point-of-sale, it becomes a powerful new diagnostic tool. The key question involved a low trial rate. What was holding it back? Were shoppers not sighting the product or were they aware but not persuaded?

As it turns out, the product was one of the most noticeable on shelf, but upon follow-up interviews it was discovered that consumers were moderately confused as to the concept. Subsequent panel redesigns led to noticeably improved penetration rates.