What is Package Testing?

Package Testing is a method of conducting market research to test how well a product’s packaging design will be accepted by consumers before it is released. Several mock-ups or actual packages are presented to the target audience, and we will investigate by asking questions such as “Do you want to buy a product with this design?” “Which design makes you want to buy the most?” “What kind of image do you get from the design?” When consumers choose a product, not only the content of the product, but the packaging is also a major factor to affect their choice. No matter how high the quality and performance of a product is, if the packaging leaves a bad impression, the customer will not even pick it up, let alone make a purchase. Therefore, package testing is a critical step in determining a product’s success in the market. In this article, we will explain the advantages and disadvantages of package testing, points to consider when conducting it, as well as the research methods.

Purpose of Package Testing

The purpose of packaging testing is to understand consumers’ impressions of the product. This allows you to objectively evaluate the quality and image of the packaging. Also, based on the evaluation, you would be able to decide the package design from different styles and receive suggestions for improvement.

From Package Testing, you will know that…

By conducting package tests, you can prove the quality of your design with objective data. In addition, by analyzing the respondents, it becomes clear whether the product resonates with the target group, increasing the accuracy of market introduction. Additionally, feedback from respondents can be used to discover further improvements to the design. Also, based on the evaluation, you would be able to decide the package design from different styles and receive suggestions for improvement.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Package Testing

As you can see, there are many benefits to implementing package testing, but there are also disadvantages that you should keep in mind when conducting research.

Advantages of Package Testing

1. To understand consumers’ reactions and impressions to package design quickly and concretely
2. To understand the specific strengths and weaknesses of your package design and know the direction for strengthening and improving it.
3. To reduce the risks during the product launch in the market, since it is possible to anticipate consumers’ reactions with packaging tests.

Disadvantages of Package Testing

1. If the survey design is not done correctly, including the target audience, test environment and survey items, the results may differ greatly from the market response.
2. Since consumers also take product contents into consideration when they purchase a product, its success in the market cannot be determined solely based on the package testing results.

Key points and Precautions for Package Testing

Below are the points and precautions to take when conducting package tests.

Points to note for Package Testing

First, we conduct an “Absolute Evaluation,” in which we evaluate only the product without considering other packaging. This step should be the first step in understanding the unique value of a package itself without being influenced by other packages. Next, we conduct a “Relative Evaluation” which compares our products with competing products and other alternative packages to clarify how each package is evaluated. Furthermore, we evaluate the packaging by breaking it down into each element, such as color, logo, and font. This allows you to understand the particularly highly rated areas and areas which need to be improved.

Notes on Packaging Test

When conducting a package testing before a product is released, careful measures are required to minimize the risk of information leakage. Therefore, research participants should be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

How to Evaluate and Choose a Package Design

There are several investigation methods for package testing, and it is necessary to select the most appropriate method depending on the evaluation target, purpose, schedule, cost, etc. Package evaluations method that Asmarq conducts will be introduced below.

Questionnaire Survey for Absolute and Relative Evaluation

The standard marketing research method for package design is called Central Location Test (CLT). By allocating participants to touch the actual product or mockup, and conducting quantitative research on the spot, you can obtain a lot of feedback at once. Furthermore, for consumer goods, it is also possible to set up mock stores and place products alongside competitive products to evaluate them in conditions closer to the market. In addition, if the design’s tactile or texture is not the subject of evaluation, online package testing through Internet research is also effective. Nowadays, it is possible to recreate a store’s product shelves on the Internet and evaluate the design under conditions that closely resemble in-store shopping behaviors. In each case, based on the key point of the package test mentioned above, product design proposals are presented in the order of absolute evaluation and relative evaluation. We will investigate the evaluation of purchase intention as well as the attractiveness by breaking it down into elements such as color, logo, and font. The impressions people get from the packaging, such as “cute”, “luxurious” and “familiar”, are also investigated. Below, we have summarized and explained the items that are generally included in a package evaluation questionnaire.

Package Research using AI Technologies

By creating a virtual brain from brain activity, we can use AI to predict the brain activity (reaction) when a person views a creative image, and letting it learn from the predicted brain activity, survey data, and actual measurement data, it can make predictions quantitatively and in a multifaceted way with a solution called D-Planner. It is possible to convert predictive data such as favorability, concept communication, impression, click rate, etc. for videos and packages and output them as numerical values. Since it is difficult to evaluate all creative ideas through questionnaire surveys when there are a large number of ideas, D-Planner allows you to narrow down the list to only those with high ratings. You can also use it to evaluate a narrowed number of creative ideas through a questionnaire, or you can quickly use it as an AB test for package renewals when you don’t have the time or budget.

Applying Academic Insights into Package Evaluation

Design Psychology Research is a new attempt to apply the extensive knowledge of experimental psychology to the field of design. It is possible to quantify human sensibilities (visibility, usability, impressions, etc.) that are difficult for regular questionnaires. This is an approach to quantify the feeling of “love at first sight” for a package design, which has been something difficult to quantify until now. The flow of the investigation does not differ greatly from a regular questionnaire survey, but the question design and analysis are based on concepts from design psychology, so the survey results will be different. In addition, in the case of a questionnaire survey, unconscious bias inevitably occurs because the person answers the question after thinking about it once, but in a design psychology survey, the survey design is based on a psychological perspective. Therefore, you can understand consumers’ intuitive decisions without bias.

Summary

By utilizing package testing, you can develop the packaging that maximizes the appeal of your products. Package tests, which used to be dominated by the Central Location Test, are now available in an increasing number of method options, including internet surveys, AI package surveys, and academic surveys using psychological approaches. However, since these surveys are used to evaluate design, a subjective element in the eyes of consumers, it requires the knowledge and experience of marketing research experts, so as to avoid risk of producing incorrect results or judgments if the survey design is done inappropriately. If your company would like to conduct a package testing, we recommend you to consult with a marketing research company first.