Women are 4 times more likely to respond to personalised and gender-specific packaging says research
Women are four times more likely to respond to personalised packaging than men, according to research.
Conducted by easyFairs, the organisers of Packaging Innovations London 2014, the study of 500 marketing and packaging professionals found that personalised, or gender specific packaging, had a greater influence on women with the packaging more likely to impact their purchasing decisions.
Almost half (43 per cent) of those surveyed said they favoured ‘branded personality’ packaging. When questioned on which sectors relied heavily on gender specific packaging, cosmetics/toiletries took the top spot with 86 per cent, followed by fashion (67 per cent), toys (49 per cent) and alcohol (37 per cent).
When asked about whether they thought gender cues in packaging would sell more products 42 per cent of those polled agreed. When it came to children’s packaging – i.e. pink for girls and blue for boys – 40 per cent claimed this responded to what girls and boys prefer, with 29 per cent claiming a company would lose sales by adopting gender neutral packaging.
More than a quarter (28 per cent) think gender specific packaging is a good idea, with over 39 per cent revealing they have considered integrating pack gender bias as a way of improving sales. A third (33 per cent) though said an increase in gender-neutral packaging was likely to be on the cards following campaigns such as ‘Let Toys be Toys’, which canvasses for the removal of gender labels from toy packaging.
“Brand personalities are a set of values with which consumers identify. Many brands will work hard to attract a specific gender group, as it’s a tempting way to differentiate it from other similar brands in a sometimes crowded homogeneous product class,” explained Alison Church, event director at easyFairs.
“The problem comes when the packaging plays on stereotypes; we all know that towards the end of last year, after customer complaints, Marks & Spencer agreed to make its toy packaging gender neutral by spring 2014, and they weren’t the only retail chain to do this. Most brand managers work hard to ensure their packaging catches the shopper’s eye whoever the target market is, irrespective of their gender.”
Brands that use gender specific packaging and marketing include Yorkie (‘It’s not for Girls’), McCoy’s (‘Man Crisps’) and Lambrini (‘Lambrini Girls Just Want to have Fun’).