Packaging Psychology

The supermarket introduced the consumer, armed with a shopping cart, to a wilderness of packages in which the consumer could wander around without guidance or even a clear purpose.  Not until they had trouble finding an item did they need advice until they reached the checkout.  The consumer had to make their own decisions based on the brand name or appearance of an item.

The power of packaging then became front and center.  In a 1928 book, Packages that Sell, Franken and Larrabee wrote about the new emphasis on packaging.  "The package should be merchandised in the same way the product is merchandised."

Each product had its distinct purpose - to clean, to taste good, to decorate; all packaging, however, had one purpose - to sell.  Whatever the content of the package, whatever its purpose, every package's shape, size, color, served that one purpose to sell.  It didn't matter how well it protected or preserved the contents, it failed if it did not sell. 

The important quality, therefore, of the package was what made the consumer buy it.  What made a buyer choose that particular car of beans over the one next to it on the shelf?  A study done by an American psychologist, James Cattell, showed that a 10 ounce can of codfish cakes was the best way to sell the cakes because it looked larger than the actual larger can of another brand.  Both cans held the same exact amount, but the appearance of one was more desirable.

Recently we've seen this when packaging began to hold less product in the same package as before with the same price.  We perceive the same amount inside because only the volume size on the package changed.  The appearance of the package and the price were the same as before.  We would have noticed much more quickly an increase in price than quantity...the psychology of packaging.

Next time...Impulse Buying
___________________________
Today in Pioneer History: "On March 16, 1802, the United States Military Academy - the first military school in America is founded by Congress for the purpose of educating and training young men in the theory and practice of military service.  Simply known as West Point, it was the site of a Revolutionary fort built to protect the Hudson River Valley from the British in 1780..  Currently the enrollment is close to 5,000 students.