Designing Impulse Purchases

Transcription

1 February 2015 Research Paper Designing Impulse Purchases Getting beyond the functional and owning the impulsive moment

2 Think Blink At Shikatani Lacroix, we design compelling at-purchase moments that connect in the blink of an eye. Our philosophy and strategic design approach, Think Blink, is driven by a consumer s motivation to make a purchase decision. Everything we do is geared to owning the at-purchase moment. Our firm has a well-earned reputation for designing integrated brand experiences that effectively connect brands with consumers to drive measurable results for clients. About the author Jean-Pierre Lacroix, R.G.D., President and Founder of Shikatani Lacroix Jean-Pierre (JP) Lacroix provides leadership and direction to his firm, which was founded in He has spent the last 30 years helping organizations better connect their brands with consumers in ways that impact the overall performance of their business. In 1990, Mr. Lacroix was the first to coin and trademark the statement The Blink Factor, which today is a cornerstone principle of how brands succeed in the marketplace. JP has authored several papers, has been quoted in numerous branding and design articles, and in 2001 he coauthored the book The Business of Graphic Design which has sold over 10,000 copies. JP can be reached at jplacroix@sld.com and you can follow his thought leadership webinars at Other Articles and Book Organizational brand coherence, 2013 Design visualization, 2013 Beyond the middle: Creating value for private label brands, 2012 Retail trends in banking, 2012 Packaging in an online world, 2011 Belonging Experiences: Designing Engaged Brands,

3 Driving at-purchase impulse sales Retailers and marketers face a new set of opportunities thinly veiled as challenges. Looking at the glass half empty perspective the challenges today s grocery shopper faces a complex and confusing retail environment with more than 60,000 supermarket products, and these numbers continue to grow along with the range of retail channels available. To amplify the issue, the number of shopping trips in the U.S. dropped from a high of 2.2 per week in 2012 to 1.6 per week in 2014, and consumers are increasingly more willing to accept living with less. 60,000 supermarket products Shopping trips down from 2.2 in 2012 to 1.6 in 2014 Grocery shopping time rose to 41 minutes However, from a glass half full perspective the opportunities the average time spent per grocery shop rose to 41 minutes. With this extra time spent in the store, retailers have new opportunities to drive private label impulse purchases the acts of buying without pre-shopping objectives or consideration since so many decisions are being made at the shelf level. Marketers and retailers need to consider four design factors when developing their packaging program. The impact of impulse sales is significant and should not be underestimated, and based on a 2012 POPAI study which noted more than three in four grocery purchase decisions are being made in-store, 60% of which are impulse purchases within the grocery & convenience channels. 3 to 4 grocery purchase decisions made in the store Why do customers shop retail outlets and online sites? Although impulse purchases represent a large portion of transactions at retail there are four distinct types of impulses. A study found in the International Journal of Marketing Studies on impulse buying behaviour by G. Muruganantham and Ravi Shakar Bhakat identified the four types of impulse purchases consisting of: planned impulse, reminded impulse, suggestion impulse and pure impulse. For planned impulse the study noted these are partially planned but the product or categories are not decided and tend to be triggered through promotional activities at store level. 3

4 Retailers have new opportunities to drive private label impulse purchases the acts of buying without preshopping objectives or consideration. Private label is a great example of planned impulse purchases where the consumer is considering toothpaste but has not yet decided on the brand or category (whitening versus breath freshening) and the significant savings offer helps sway the final decision. Reminder impulse is next. We have all had reminder impulses where we are buying for a given meal and realize to complete the preparations we need a given item that was not originally considered. It could have been an item that we ran out of or one we typically do not use and is required. Store signing or back panel recipes help drive this type of behaviour in addition to product taste trials in the store. Suggestion oriented impulse is prevalent in the fashion category where consumers have no previous experience with a new item or category. In the grocery category, these could be new category offerings that did not exist, such a new brand of gluten-free food or a new line of ethnically based meal offering. Store signing and effective claims and package messaging providing both category and product-specific features play a pivotal role in driving impulse sales for this type of purchase behaviour. The final type of impulse purchase is the pure impulse where none of the above apply and are driven by emotional context such as the mood state of the consumer. Since so many decisions are being made at the shelf level and a good portion of these are impulsive in nature, below find four design factors marketers and retailers need to consider when developing their packaging program. 4

5 Factor One: Strong Visibility It is clear that to drive impulse sales the product needs to be noticed during the split second it takes a consumer to choose to buy a product. The rise of product offerings at retail makes the opportunity of standing out more challenging for packaging to effectively drive increased visibility. In packaging design, we have defined the key criteria driving shelf visibility as the BlinkFactor(TM), where 40% of all communication consumers absorb is visual, and 80% of this visual connection is done through colours and shapes. Are your brands colours and shapes setting you apart from competitors and, more importantly, do they drive an effective emotional connection with consumers? In the many years helping marketers drive strong shelf visibility, we have noticed that all market leaders own a dominant colour, and more importantly the colour talks to the emotional needs of their customers. BlinkFactor(TM): 40% of all communication consumers absorb is visual, and 80% of this visual connection lays in colours and shapes. 5 When considering increasing your brand s visibility, you should consider the entire product category in which the product competes for customer attention. With the wide range of different retailer plan-o-grams and channels of distribution, the ability to design strong shelf presence can be daunting because the competition s adjacent brand package designs can vary significantly. To effectively ensure your brand wins the visibility game, careful attention to evaluating each design in the retailers individual shelf set is critical. What may work for one retailer s shelves may not work for another, especially if your brand represents a small category that tends to be placed as infill within major categories. Creating mock shelf sets either as retouched images or as physical sets developed in the client s offices provides a great tool to evaluate which designs meet the visibility criteria. For most of our major

6 projects we also recommend going to our client s largest customers to review the packaging as part of a real shelf setting. When we redesigned the Shoppers Drug Mart s Life Brand, we visited the client s mock store to review each packaging concept to ensure the designs truly stood out. Factor Two: Leverage Shop-Ability How can marketers leverage the natural way consumers shop to ensure their product effectively influences the customer s buying decision? Sometimes it can consist of a colour (green=organic, light blue=healthier alternative, etc.) or the hierarchy of communication where the sub-brand plays a critical role. Since people shop with their eyes, the ability to leverage large images that either reinforce the end benefit or help understand the final usage help fill the information gaps in order for consumers to make a purchase. Large graphics connect with consumers and are an effective way to drive suggestion or reminder type impulse purchases. Unique packaging contributes to visibility, but it also helps the shopper s decision process by allowing the distinctive shape break out in the category. Shape is another great way to drive impulse purchase and makes the purchase decision making easier. Unique packaging contributes to visibility, but it also helps the shopper s decision process by allowing the distinctive shape break out in the category. Imagine for a minute you are competing in the cereal aisle consisting of a hundred feet of packaging, all the same size and dimensions. Imagine how difficult it is to shop this category without feeling confused or frustrated. Now consider the same category where you have launched a cereal brand in a tube or stand-up pouch and how this change alone helps the shopping process by breaking-up the sea of sameness and bringing attention to something new in the category. 6

7 Factor Three: Align to Shopping Behaviour Marketers and designers understand that there is a huge range of types of shopper behaviours: stock-ups, fill-ins, special purpose visits, and quick trips, and each one influences which product categories will be able to leverage impulse behaviours. Providing promotional activities such as discounts, end aisle promotional displays and cut case programs for planned impulse purchases is one of the best vehicles in driving this category of sales. Stock-ups tend to be preplanned and represent brands most familiar with consumers. Providing promotional activities such as discounts, end aisle promotional displays and cut case programs for planned impulse purchases is one of the best vehicles in driving this category of sales. Fill-ins and special purpose provide the highest level of impulse purchase opportunities as these tend to be time pressed or part of a special event that does not form a habitual purchase. For example, in many shopper categories these can consist of seasonal packaging, sweepstakes-type flashed packaging or unique collectables. If consumers are doing stock-ups, offering bonus packaging, time-limited offers highlighted on the packaging, or multiple purchase offers help to drive purchase behaviour. This type of incentive provides added value in the form of convenience, and it directs the consumer away from potentially buying a competing brand. Package design for fillins and special purchases should reflect strong shelf impact, stronger end-benefit messaging, or reinforce a lifestyle benefit that talks to the emotional state of the consumer. 7

8 Factor Four: Emotional Connection Brands reflect a customer s self-image and effectively tapping into this behaviour will drive impulse purchases. Ultimately, impulse sales need to effectively connect emotionally with consumers in the split second it takes to make a buying decision. Most impulse purchases are traced to a consumer s lifestyle needs and self-expression plays a critical role. In essence, brands reflect customer s self-image and effectively tapping into this behaviour will drive impulse purchases. Packaging that makes this connection has greater odds of consideration during the unplanned at-purchase moment. The package design imagery, colours and messaging should all play a role in ensuring the resulting image takeaway aligns to consumers self image. Designs that help augment (weight control or HBA brands) the customers reality and self image tend to drive sales well before the actual fact-based information is noticed or even read. To effectively connect with consumers on an emotional level, the design process also needs to be true to the position while working hard at removing all irrelevant information that competes for the key salient elements that connect emotionally. Over the many years we have developed unique packaging that emotionally connects with consumers, we have grouped package design elements into three categories. Detractors consist of packaging elements that have been part of past package messaging that is no longer relevant and which compete for the customer s attention while bringing no inherent value. Core defines the various packaging elements that retain a link to the brand equity and a strong relationship to how consumers shop for the given brand. Most rebranding initiatives that failed were a direct result of not protecting the core elements of the brand during the transition, leading to on-shelf confusion. Enhancers represent new visual and messaging cues that ensure the brand remains relevant to consumers. 8

9 Conclusion Impulse purchases represent a critical factor in ensuring brands win at retail by increasing their selection odds with the customers. Impulse can only occur with package design that is highly visible, reflects the shop-ability of the category, reflects consumers shopping behaviour and makes a strong emotional connection in the fraction of the time it takes to make a buying decision. 9