According to the 2012 Shopper Engagement Study, shoppers are basing a whopping 76% of their choices on attractive packaging and appearance.
Results revealed that even those who go shopping with the intention of sticking to a list cannot resist the temptation of good branding.
Trade association Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) interviewed 2,400 store visitors before and after they entered a supermarket and calculated the rate by comparing the anticipated purchases and the actual items bought.
Behavioural change
Richard Winter, president of POPAI told MSNBC: “What you find is that people will tell you they plan to do one thing, but their actual behaviour will be quite different.”
The findings showed that with such an abundance of choice, from organic to premium to private labels, shoppers look to a brand’s marketing as a cue of what to buy.
If brands are do not take advantage of in-store marketing opportunities, the study found, the shopper will simply buy another product of the same description that is better displayed.
The survey found as the interviewees who took credit cards to the store were more susceptible to the temptations of the impulse buys they had not planned on putting in their baskets.
No matter how the participants footed the bill at the end, however, 57% still spent more than they had originally anticipated.
