Packaging becomes interactive tool at the point of sale

The ideal packaging jumps off the shelf, speaks to the consumer, and provides instant, convincing information about product quality. Functionality is always a prime consideration.

Augmented reality. This is the technology Lego is using to stage its products. It uses advanced image processing techniques to c
Augmented reality. This is the technology Lego is using to stage its products. It uses advanced image processing techniques to c

Entry to the augmented Lego world is provided by a digital box, a terminal equipped with special software. The user takes a Lego product from the shelf and holds the package bar code up to a camera. The camera reads the code and projects a 3D version of the product on a monitor. When the package is turned, the image of the product also rotates, allowing the product to be viewed from all sides. The animation is superimposed on real-world images, which the camera transmits simultaneously. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality does not replace the real world but enhances it with virtual data.

For Lego, this investment at the point of sale (PoS) has already paid off. “The feedback tells us that this innovative concept is really well accepted by the customers, who are having a lot of fun using it,” says Helena Seppelfricke, press officer at Lego Central Europe. The company now intends to use this new technology in all 50 of its brand stores around the world.

No excitement, no sale


Companies seeking to reach the consumer must stage its merchandise perfectly at the PoS. This doesn’t just apply to toys but to all products—from food to luxury items. “Shops are a hotly contested arena, where the prize is the customer’s attention,” explains Hilka Bergmann, head of the packaging research section at the EHI Retail Institute. The pressure to be noticed at all costs is highest at the discount stores.

According to the Institute’s data, the average supermarket in Germany carried some 6,000 articles in the mid 1990s. Today, that figure has risen to more than 15,000. This vast array is confusing to consumers who know very little about individual products. Most shoppers therefore tend to buy on instinct. Marketing researchers have found that 70% of them only decide directly at the PoS what ends up in their shopping basket. And this is where the importance of the sales package is most crucial, because it acts as a decision aid on the shelf. According to the Munich-based market research firm facit, the influence of the packaging on purchasing decisions is twice as high as that of TV advertising, billboards, or print media.

As a result, companies are allocating money to PoS advertising. According to the EHI Retail Institute, spending by product manufacturers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland is predicted to rise by 0.2% to 10.2% of marketing budgets in the 2009-to-2012 period. “Communicative” packages were an important topic at interpack. The trade fair included the Innovationparc Packaging with topics showing how packaging relates to quality of life: meaning, health, aesthetics, simplicity, and identity. These dimensions directly impact the behavior and the consumption patterns of potential customers—and using packaging as a vehicle to persuade these potential customers to buy a product calls for deep insights into target groups and their expectations.

Investing in packages that show their contents interactively and in 3D has, however, exceeded the budgets of all but a few companies so far. Although the more common sales packages and displays don’t provide such deep insights, in the ideal case they offer quick and competent advice about the product inside. Articles can be even more strongly promoted when they come in special editions or with a bonus offer. One internationally known example of such on-pack solutions is razors offered with razor blades. Also gaining importance are promotional activities where the consumer can learn more about the products, such as food and beverage tasting counters or live events such as cooking shows.

A tough challenge for designers

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