‘Never judge a book by its cover’ is not a mantra that applies to the beauty world, with new research revealing the importance packaging plays in purchasing decisions. WWD recently published the study findings of The Goldstein Group CEO Terri Goldstein, who presented at a recent conference on purchasing power. Her key messages include:
1. Women remain key consumers
Goldstein is adamant that brands must appeal to females first and foremost, as they not only remain the primary consumers but shape the purchasing decisions of the men in their lives. She comments: “Women shop on an exploration and buy more in one shopping trip, while married men shop on a mission, and 92 per cent of the time ‘she’ is telling him what to get.”
2. A purchase decision is made within five seconds
Goldstein says women in particular are affected by the visual, making a purchase decision within five seconds of viewing a shelf in a given store. “You’ve got five seconds or less. Never forget to give her strong and own-able core identifiers to talk about her brand preferences,” she says.
3. Consumers have a visual checklist
But for both sexes Goldstein says that brand seduction plays out in an order: “Colour is first, shape is second, symbols are third and words are last.”
4. Touch is increasingly important
Packaging that invites touch is the next big thing. “Forty-one per cent purchase a product if they touch it,” she says, encouraging brands to utilise packaging that incorporates embossing and metallic finishes to tantalise consumers.
5. Women want relatability
Goldstein believes consumers (women in particular) are increasingly thirsty for realistic representation on packaging. She says it is an area that brands have not yet mastered, but the representation of “all women” is key for relatability and will help brands to sufficiently improve their sales.
Image: @batiste_hair
