Independent retail research has shown that over 70% of grocery shoppers make their decisions about what brands or products to buy when they are in-store. It also shows that this is often a subconsciously driven process and that standard qualitative packaging research does not identify the visual drivers behind consumers’ purchasing behaviours.

Some brands attract a lot of attention from shoppers whilst others are almost invisible even when they share similar shelf space and locations.

A major influencing factor is brand design!

Some brand designs work harder than others in allowing consumers to recognise and recall their emotional relationship with a brand when shopping.

These processes are called ‘schema’, they are learned behaviours which, through repetition, become subconscious and are stimulated by the design of a pack, POP communication or the design of a retail environment. We all have many schema, they make life easier. A simple example is driving. An experienced driver, seeing a red traffic light, will go through a series of behaviours to stop the car. The driver reacts subconsciously and is prompted by the visual signal of a red light. The red light signal is called a ‘mnemonic’- it stimulates recognition, recall and an automatic subconscious response.

Brand designs which contain strong ‘brand mnemonics’ tend to work better than brands that do not. A few strong brand mnemonics are featured below - to which brands do they belong?

“ Conventional qualitative research often fails to identify the imagery shoppers use to recognise and recall brands in complex and cluttered retail environments.

This can mean key imagery is lost in redesign and leads to a reduction of sales.

Schema Research helps brands to protect key imagery and maximise their communication at POP.”
 
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These are signposts; they aid navigating the category and identifying the brand but also to navigate category displays. Brand pack designs that contain these signpost mnemonics attract more attention from shoppers.

Through Schema Research™, the principles of how these mnemonics work can be applied to any brand, improving their ability to be recognised and recalled at point of purchase.

However, it is not just experienced shoppers who have developed schemas that need to be considered. Research shows that inexperienced shoppers expect brand packaging to be informative and will not purchase if they are not reassured at the moment of purchase.

Inexperienced shoppers often have multiple tasks to perform and will only give a limited amount of attention to an unfamiliar brand. They want key information presented on the fascia of a pack or highlighted in POP communication which explains the brand offer with the minimum of their involvement. They prefer visual explanation using mnemonics to explain what the brand offers rather than having to sift through pack copy.

The efficiency of your brand design or POP communication can be judged by removing the words and leaving the mnemonics.

Do shoppers recognise and recall the brand?

Do shoppers understand the brand offer?

If not, then their brand pack design is inhibiting their potential sales at POP.

Schema Research™ is a qualitative process designed to identify the key brand mnemonics needed to drive consumer relationships with brands and influence their purchasing behaviour.

To find more about Schema Research™ contact Rob Barker on 01865 341263, or click on Contact Us at the top of the page.

 

Answers

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Shopper Insights | Store check | Schema Research