Ever wonder what impact the packaging and presentation of your product has on your sales? Perhaps you’ve noticed that a 2-for-1 sale can bring in twice as many buyers, while a 10% off sale can do twice the business. Do people buy a product with attractive packaging more often?
Enter: The Package Appeal Effect. This is another one of those psychological marketing techniques that you should know about to achieve better results from your marketing tactics. In this article, we’re going to look at some of the different psychological effects related to package appeal and their impact on sales.
How Does Packaging Impact Our Business?
We’ve all had those moments when we walk into a department store, look at the product on the shelf, and just couldn’t decide whether or not we want to buy it. Sometimes there’s no reason behind this , but sometimes there is.
A lot of people don’t realize how much of an impact packaging can have on their decision to purchase. In fact, one study conducted by OK/NOR found that almost half of all impulse purchases are made just because the item is packaged well enough to catch our attention. What’s more is that most consumers won’t even consider buying an item unless it looks appealing (OK/NOR).
Before we get into the different psychological effects related to packaging appeal, it’s important to note that there are two main types of appeal your product can have.
One is functional appeal and the other is emotional appeal. The emotional part refers to how much of an impact the design of a product has on someone. A lot of people are looking for something that looks good in their home, whether it be a new MP3 player or a table lamp. There’s no reason for this beyond the fact that some products just look good when you buy them.
Clearly, this can be important for websites like Amazon and eBay where you’re trying to sell individual products rather than entire lines of merchandise.
This is where the functional appeal comes into play. It’s all about how the product works and its ability to solve a problem. Look at a business like Apple. While many individuals loved the way that their products looked, it was their functionality that really made them popular. In some cases, they were more advanced than similar products on the market.
The same thing applied to businesses like Nintendo and Sony as well, only they never really got past their emotional appeal when it comes to their packaging designs .
What’s more is that there are different types of appeal for each type of product you’re selling.