Retail packaging experts at Package Insight (Clemson University), in conjunction with Seaman Paper Company, conducted a study exploring the effects of four different interior packaging materials on consumer perception and appreciation using emotion-mapping technology (non-conscious biometric data gathering) to analyze respondents’ reactions. The contenders were 1) air pillows, 2) kraft paper, 3) branded tissue, and 4) white tissue. The overall takeaway: consumers prefer the unboxing experience when tissue is used as the interior packaging; tissue also bestows products with a more premium identity, lifting brand quality impressions and creating a more valuable experience. Here are a few key results:
- Respondents who received items wrapped in branded tissue paper were more likely to share positive recommendations and make repeat purchases than those who received the same items packaged with other void-fill materials.
- 41% of respondents said they’d be more likely to recommend a brand that took the time to wrap package contents in branded tissue paper.
- For the full-length of the package interaction, participants who interacted with tissue packaging felt the most positive emotions (joy and surprise) in the highest amount– 66% of their interaction time; Kraft Void-fill elicited the highest percentage of negative emotion — 40%.
- When the videos were clipped down to the “Moment of Opening” for each participant, the differences were more dramatic. In those first five seconds when a consumer is making their initial impression of a brand, tissue paper packaging elicited positive emotional reactions 54% of the time, compared to Air pillows at 31% and Kraft void-fill at 30%.
- When participants were asked what general type of packaging they’d be most likely to share on social media, 64% said they would be most likely to share a product packaged in branded tissue.
- Only 14% of participants reported that their impression of a brand was not improved when their the package contents were wrapped in tissue.
Click here to view the infographic or download the white paper.
We will be covering the importance of packaging on customer satisfaction more in-depth in our July/August issue, so stay tuned.
