The evaluation of package branding is important to determine its ability to connect with consumers on an emotional level. In the past, focus groups have been the traditional method used to evaluate branding; however, focus groups can be seen as an inaccurate method of gathering data due to purely qualitative data collection. This paper presents a retail shopping experiment conducted in CUShop ™ , a consumer experience laboratory, to determine whether consumers prefer a public label product versus a private label product, utilizing eye tracking to analyse the decision-making process. Results illustrated that purchase decision as well as time spent observing packaging indicates that participants preferred public branded packaging with respect to its private label competitor. 4 Consumers interpret a brand through aesthetics and emotional associations, connecting the brand image with their expectations of the product. 6 Packaging is a prominent form of brand advertisement. The packaging of a product can encourage purchasing decisions by working as a vehicle of interest, communication and aesthetics. 18 In other words, the package can become synonymous with the brand itself. Much of this is accomplished through brand dress, the combination of symbols, typography and colours that work synchronically to express brand ideology and quickly identify the brand. Brand dress develops brand awareness, increasing customer loyalty and improving initial purchasing and repurchasing of the product. Brand dress even works to highlight the brand once the package is brought home. Brand dress and packaging design as a whole are the most effective methods for emphasizing the brand due to its ability to persuade consumers at the point of purchase and continue making impressions after purchase. 13Among products, there is a branding division between private and public labels. A private label product is defined as a product owned and branded by a company whose top business priority is distribution rather than manufacturing, as it is for a public brand. 11 In the past, private labels, also known as store brands, have been seen as being of lesser value than public brands due to their lack of shelf presence.8 They generally mimicked the design characteristics of the public brands within their particular category. 12 More recently, however, the design of store brand packaging has been evolving, thus altering consumer perception of private labels.8 Private label packaging is now being increasingly purchased not only due to its lower pricing, which has an average price of 21% below public brands, but also because of its enhanced shelf appeal.5 Private label brands accounted for over a fifth of the combined sales in the United States and are currently increasing at a faster rate than public brands. 14 Prior to this study, no peer-reviewed study has tested consumers' preference to public label versus private label using eye tracking technology. Focus groups have been the default choice in preference testing, which relies on group communication as ...

Research is presented that investigates whether the amount of physical product visible from the primary display panel of a package has an effect on consumer attention and purchase decision in the category of grill ware. It is hypothesized that a package providing the most physical product exposure will be preferred by consumers over alternative structural designs. To test this, three similar products were placed in four distinct package structures varying the amount of visible product exposure (0%, 40%, 90% and 100%). The packages were positioned on the shelves of the fully immersive simulated shopping environment CUshop™. A total of 127 participants were fitted with eye‐tracking glasses and presented a shopping list that included one of the three grill ware products (fork, spatula and tongs). Participants were asked to shop as they normally would, and data concerning their visual attention in the store and final purchase selection was collected. Purchase patterns showed that the packaging that revealed the most physical product possible was chosen more than the other three configurations tested. Analysis of eye‐tracking data supports expected behaviour, suggesting that consumers prefer to see at least some of the product, with the 0% visible product receiving significantly fewer fixations, a slower time to first fixation and lower total fixation durations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Even with new technologies emerging daily that reduce the barriers to identify and purchase products, the average consumer still reports having less time to devote to shopping. A study conducted at Clemson University, sponsored by a reusable packaging company, Rehrig Pacific Company, investigated if a unique shipping shell/crate design with on‐message and product branding (direct colour print onto the shell) increased brand awareness, attention and purchase intent when placed directly onto the retail shelf. Reusable packaging for 2 L bottles of carbonated soft drink packaged in proprietary reusable shells with a multicolour logo of the major US beverage company was chosen for the study. The branded proprietary reusable shell was evaluated against a standard reusable shell in the industry used by the same company. Testing was conducted using state‐of‐the‐art eye tracking hardware and CUshop™, a full immersion consumer retail experience laboratory. Data captured from 89 study participants indicated a strong preference for the new branded reusable shell. Statistical analysis demonstrated a 47% increase in eye fixations on the branded display and an increase in fixation duration, a measure of how long consumers looked at the display, of 34% (p < 0.05). More significantly, an increase in the visual saliency of the primary package, the 2 L bottle, was illustrated by an increase in fixation duration of 46% (p < 0.05) and an increase of the number of fixations of 54% (p < 0.01) when displayed in the branded reusable shell. Thus, results indicate that in‐store marketing incorporating a unique secondary packaging may lift brand awareness and increase purchase intent. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Through the collection of quantitative and qualitative data, the shelf presence of full body graphic labels versus partial body graphic labels on plastic beverage bottles was examined and evaluated. Eye tracking was used to collect phenomenological data atop the stimuli, while a shopping checklist was used to collect purchase preference. A post-experiment survey was also conducted in order to gather qualitative data regarding possible purchase influences. Data revealed that both label sizes drew an equivalent amount of visual attention; however, consumers selected partial body labels more often than full body labels, regardless of the flavour of the beverage or their age group. Paper presents a unique methodology of comparing attention between the two label styles on plastic beverage bottles. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. INTRODUCTIONApproximately half of all the products packaged in the USA are food products, and Americans spend well over $500 billion on food every year.1 Without food packaging, the modern food industry would be dramatically different, as consumer marketing would be virtually impossible. 2One of the main functions of packaging includes communication. Communication is a broad function that includes displaying information, showing tamper evidence and advertisement of the product.3 In order to communicate and ultimately sell itself, the product must attract the consumer's attention. Attention is a valuable resource in consumer goods, as it can be traced back to a person's focused concentration. A label can be the vehicle in attracting consumer attention and communicating information on packaging. Robertson 4 referred to a label as a 'silent salesman'. This can be important in a consumer retail environment because 70% of purchase decisions are made at the shelf. 5Labels can come in a variety of styles dependent on materials, processes and the end use of the label. There are different materials and ways designers can make their labels stand out against other product labels. Utilizing various label sizing gives designers different sized canvases to work with in order to attract consumer attention and communicate product information. Full body shrink sleeve labels have become increasingly popular for beverage labelling as they offer an increased surface area and also serve as an effective method of showing tamper evidence. Because of the increase in material and additional processing that goes into full body shrink sleeve labels, there are additional costs associated with this type versus a partial body film label.While previous studies have shown the importance of food appearance and packaging appearance on consumers' food perceptions, little research has evaluated the difference in consumer attention to full body labels versus partial body labels on food packaging. This study gathered qualitative and quantitative data in a simulated shopping environment to examine the shelf presence of full body graphic labels versus partial body graphic labels. The overall hypothesis of the study was tha...

The point size of display text on a package was evaluated relative to package proportion with the use of a preference test. This test involved 150 participants examining packaging images showing the product name in various point sizes and being asked their preference. A cascading presentation method modelled after the binary search algorithm was used to determine the exact point size preference for each participant. Participants also completed a survey intended to gather information regarding their motives for their choice. This study was developed to determine the optimal display type size of a package on the basis of its relationship with the package's proportions. It was hypothesized that this proportion would be related to the golden ratio (a ratio of about two‐thirds) that has been suggested to be a particularly aesthetic proportion throughout nature and human history. The results of the study showed that the preferred ratio was actually greater than the golden ratio, equaling 10/12 of the package's width. These results were found to be further influenced by the participant's gender and the packaging structure on which the display type is applied. Although the results are not generalizable to all demographics and products, the methodology used is easily extensible to arbitrary product types. We propose that this methodology for evaluating type size on packages be used by designers as part of the package creation process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.