09/23/2020
Blog Topic: Transparent Packaging
Eye-tracking research has proven that products with clear packaging for display are more successful than those without transparency.
The fact that consumers get a good look at the product helps them to make an educated decision about their purchase. With transparent packaging shoppers can assess fairly quickly how they will benefit from a certain product, an advantage traditional opaque packaging lacks. In other words: when a consumer has the choice between two products, one in transparent packaging, the other in traditional cardboard, most consumers will choose the former because it literally reveals important characteristics of the product . Evidently, consumers value seeing a product with their own eyes more than reading a description from a box.
Various studies show that customers are over 600 percent more likely to pick up a product they can see over one hidden in a paper box. The most significant study, conducted by Clemson University, tracked eye movement in a shopping situation. The resulting data showed that eyes were instinctively drawn to the sight of products rather than pictures on boxes. Effectiveness of visibility has been shown to be as high as 678% when it comes to catching customer attention. Some analysis has shown that being able to see the product can increase sales by over 200%. People feel more confident purchasing a product they can see. Visibility is essential to positive sales growth.
Clear packaging is increasingly becoming associated with more healthy, natural products. Consumers want to see the product inside and decide for themselves if it looks like something good for their bodies.
Using transparent packaging, like a glass bottle or pouch with a window that showcases a product’s color is a win-win, it allows brands to take a more minimal approach to the design process and let their product take center stage, without sacrificing visual interest or impact with the final package design.
In the upcoming years, more brands will experiment with transparency, layering design elements of transparent materials and use the product’s color as a design feature to add contrast and make those elements pop once the brand’s product is poured into it.
Transparent food packaging market can be classified under various forms. They are clamshells, zip pouches, windows packets or boxes, transparent tray, glass bottles and others. These forms of transparent packaging enhance the appeal of the product along with ensuring the consumer about the food quality.
Transparent packaging is a trend that will continue to grow especially through the current pandemic. Fruits and vegetables which traditionally have been displayed unpackaged will now be pre packaged in transparent materials ensuring the customer that minimal handling has occurred as well as showcasing the freshness of the product. (Corn on the cobb on a tray and overwrapped, chopped lettuce in pouches with windows.)
The bottom line is that today consumers need to leave the stores confident that the products they purchased are fresh and undamaged. Transparent packaging is the best way to accomplish this.
Tim Stoltzfus
