Exhibition organiser easyFairs has published new research said to show that women are “more than three times as likely to be susceptible to packaging gimmicks and on-pack promotions than men”.
The company – organiser of the Packaging Innovations London show to be held 1-2 October 2013 – surveyed over 500 marketing and packaging professionals responsible for the packaging deployed by “many of the world’s most successful brands”.
According to 77% of these packaging professionals, the people most likely to be influenced by new packaging concepts and on-pack promotions are females, easyFairs states.
“Women aged between 20 and 30 are the most easily targeted group,” the company says, “with 29% saying this group is most likely to be drawn by a packaging gimmick, whereas only 16% nominate men in this age range.”
The marketers and packaging decision-makers interviewed for the study also suggest that the gender divide is even stronger among teenagers: 27% of marketers say that, as a group, “teenage girls aged 13 to 19 are most attracted to novel packaging”, with only 9% suggesting teenage boys.
The level of difference is smaller lower down the age ranges, but it is still there, easyFairs says.
However the power of novelty packs overall seems to decline among older aged consumers of either gender, but despite this, more than 8% of interviewees believe women aged 31 to 50 are “most susceptible to gimmicks”, whereas only 4% nominate men in this age range.
EasyFairs event director Alison Church does not think the survey results necessarily suggest a likely trend towards more female-oriented packaging.
“Many brands will work hard to attract the female purchaser because in households they are often the key decision-maker, and that could be influencing the findings,” Church says.
“However most brand managers will work hard to ensure their packaging catches the eye of any shopper who is in their target market, irrespective of their age or gender.”
There are, she adds, plenty of men who are drawn to a pack or promotion: “For instance when you combine the figures you can see that over a quarter of marketers believe males aged 13 to 30 are the groups most susceptible to packaging concepts and gimmicks – they’re not going to overlook these lucrative groups.
“That’s why, at the Packaging Innovations London show we expect to see every kind of new concept on show – no matter what niche or group someone is targeting, there will be a packaging idea to grab them.”
Packaging Innovations London 2013 will take place at the Business Design Centre, Camden on 1-2 October, co-located with Luxury Packaging and the Brand & Design Village.
