23 Feb How Packaging Can Help Your Product Stand Out In Stores
How Packaging Can Help Your Product Stand Out In Stores
The retail sector is incredibly competitive. And with footfall figures dropping as online shopping becomes more popular, it has never been more important to invest in attention-grabbing packaging.
Packaging shouldn’t be an afterthought if you want to make your product fly off the shelves. But what makes it so influential and which tactics can you use to enhance its impact?
Build Your Brand
The packaging is the first thing that most customers will see, before they have even laid eyes on the product within. So it needs to be more than just a simple container; it is the calling card for your entire brand.
If your product is a success, then the way that the packaging is designed will shape how your brand is built. Get it right, and you could foster a strong image to represent your company and make it more likely that customers will remain loyal. Get it wrong, and you could lose out to the competition, even if your product is superior.
This is where proper preparation and planning pays off in the long term. If your packaging is consistent in the way it presents your brand, and also sells your product effectively, then the two will grow hand in hand.
Meanwhile taking a slap-dash approach which puts too much emphasis on one or the other will result in a muddled mess. This even extends to the material you choose; if a package looks good but feels cheap, it might damage perceptions of your brand.
Eventually your brand identity alone should be enough to draw attention. If people can detect your products in a split second just by glancing at the shelves, you’ll have won an important battle.
Harness Hues
Marketing gurus regularly discuss and debate the psychological impact of colour on consumers. And while different studies have come to conflicting conclusions about the meanings behind certain hues, there is no questioning the significance of the role they play.
Colours can be chosen according to your broader brand identity, but they also need to reflect the type of product you are selling. And in terms of packaging, it certainly pays to keep on top of the latest trends.
For some, sticking to the existing formula makes sense. There’s an obvious reason that most toothpaste packaging is predominantly white, for example.
But it can be a good idea to go against the grain, look at what colours competitors are using and deliberately take a fresh approach. If your product is going to be shoulder to shoulder with its rivals, looking distinct could give it the edge, rather than leaving it camouflaged and anonymous.
Say Something
Pretty colours and pixel-perfect logo printing will only get you so far. For your packaging to really make a difference, you need to think about how it can influence customers with clever copy.
Plenty of modern brands have adopted alternative approaches to liven up the exterior of their products. And steering clear of blandly informative descriptions of contents, or boring lists of ingredients, is a good move. Instead you can showcase a little personality with witty one-liners, quirky asides or gentle joshing.
So-called “wackaging” may have become a bit of a running joke in the industry. But it is clearly effective, as some of the biggest companies around are still using this tactic. You can afford to get creative with packaging copy without fear of alienating people.
Of course taking the opposite approach can be equally impactful. In an age when packaging can be over-crowded with tight-knit text, going back to basics with something simple yet effective is an option. And for some product types, this will do a better job of selling to your target audience.
Coupling bold, no-nonsense statements with unambiguous branding might be a good route to take. The fact that quality packaging can cater to both of these strategies to help your product say something that will engage with customers is a testament to its versatility.
Go Solo
Vying for attention on store shelves can be tricky, but you don’t need to leave your products languishing out of reach if you combine your packaging strategy with a display unit.
Available in a variety of shapes and sizes, from free standing configurations to those designed for countertops and checkouts, displays can pull your product from obscurity and boost your brand’s impact in one fell swoop.
Product displays are intrinsically eye-catching, sitting apart from the rest of the stock and luring in shoppers whose attentions have begun to wander as they walk down another over-stuffed aisle. A display can be an oasis of intrigue, an island in a stream of consumers in a busy store that will make people want to stop and stare.
As well as enhancing your product’s visibility, a display can also act as an extension of the packaging itself. You can use it to deliver important information to customers, highlight special features, showcase exclusive offers and push your brand without being restricted to the smaller surface area of the package itself.
Think Ahead
If your focus is solely on selling products in bricks and mortar outlets, then this should be a key factor in determining the packaging design you choose. But it is also worth thinking about how your product will come across in other environments.
For example, there is no guarantee that packaging which works in-store will be as successful online. And if you plan to sell the product across multiple channels, being aware of how it will come across on every platform is an advantage.
If anything, the challenges you’ll face standing out on an e-commerce site are even greater than on the high street. Customers will not be able to physically touch the packaging, or even necessarily have access to images of it from every angle to build up a three dimensional idea of how it looks. So make sure your design can get your product noticed in-store and online.
Ask The Experts
If you are overwhelmed by the task of creating the perfect packaging design to stand out in stores, contact our team of specialists at Lakeside Products. We’ll work together to develop something special.