We know that our purchasing behavior has been changing rapidly, but we can't deny that this change has accelerated considerably in recent months.

These changes directly impact how we develop packaging; it now also needs to stand out across different media. This raises the question: How is your brand performing in e-commerce? How relevant are your packaging designs on virtual shelves?

Today, packaging also needs to be easy to read on screen., incorporating (actually they always had) UX concepts and should function as platforms that connect to other information and communications.

To illustrate these changes, I will briefly describe the journeys involved in a physical purchase and a digital purchase.

In a physical environment, the customer enters the supermarket, browses the aisles, and uses their peripheral vision to deselect what they don't want. In this scenario, packaging competes for milliseconds of attention, just centimeters away from the competitor. If something catches their eye, the customer picks up the packaging and looks for more information, whether emotional or rational benefits. A proprietary shape captivates at this moment, with the customer using all their senses. Once the product is in their cart, the probability of them taking it out is very small.

In the digital world, customers search directly on Google or access your shopping app. Offers, promotions, combos, etc., appear immediately. Your product now has a multitude of competitors. They are all in thumbnail format, and if nothing catches their attention, the customer scrolls past and doesn't look again. If they find something relevant, the customer clicks, expecting more information, photos from other angles, a setting, or even instructions on how to use it. Your packaging now also depends on this additional information. The customer adds it to their cart and continues the purchase. Until finalizing the purchase, the chance of them reviewing their list and having a more rational perspective is still high.

It's clear that many things are changing, and therefore we've listed some points of attention and action that we've identified together with our clients.

The competition changes arena and rivals.
If, on supermarket shelves, your brand competed side-by-side with brands chosen by the retailer to compose its product mix, now it competes with the world. Despite having a larger supply base, this would cause the customer to suffer from the paradox of choice, and therefore, algorithms already curate based on their interests. Your brand needs to integrate the packaging design with its communication strategy, media, content, SEO, etc. It's necessary to tell a well-structured story across all these aspects.

New opportunities arise from the journeys.
Although the customer follows the same steps in the purchase process (discovery > interest > consideration > intention > evaluation > purchaseTheir attention span, expectations, and behaviors change significantly in each of them. If in the supermarket, the customer needs to "scan" the entire shelf to find what they need, in the digital world, an entire category is just a click away. Another example: in the stage where the customer is evaluating the product, although we lose the three-dimensional and multisensory factor, the customer gains a "second screen" with more information about the product, helping them in their choice. Packaging needs to consider these changes.

Well-known brands have an advantage.
There's no way around it. When we experience times of crisis and uncertainty, like now, we tend to stick with what we already know. The best-known brands end up prevailing.. To launch new brands and products, we need a very clear vision of why we exist, what our purpose is, and to integrate our Brand, Business, and Communication strategies very well.

We are still willing to experiment.
One recent research A study by Dunnhumby Brazil shows that 581,300 Brazilians surveyed changed their purchasing behavior in up to 12 categories, either increasing the volume purchased, decreasing it, or switching brands. The category that underwent the most changes was basic food items, with 281,300 people buying new brands for the first time.

“If the brand that consumers have tried offers them a better value proposition, they shouldn’t return to their old brand. This is especially true considering that the post-pandemic scenario includes an economic recession,” says Flavia Villani, head of Dunnhumby Brazil.

We need clarity and a wow factor!
Now, with the increase in online shopping, It is essential to make it easier and faster for the customer to find and identify the product they want/need through a small screen. Furthermore, people are becoming... less time spent inside supermarkets Finding the right products in the shortest possible time becomes a primary task. The clearer your product information is, the better! The principle is now more rational. We already design packaging using wireframes, organizing and prioritizing information according to how customers navigate through it. We need to consider readability and the sizes of the information, especially if the customer needs to identify it on a 13cm x 6cm screen.

Is your product an impulse purchase? Get moving!.
In recent years, the Brazilian consumer has become less impulsive and adopting a more rational behavior e healthy, Consumers are paying more attention to what they consume. This is becoming complicated for categories like that little chocolate bar at the checkout. In the digital world, impulse buying comes from a promotion of something that the customer would normally already be inclined to like, since the algorithms already know more or less what they enjoy. Interestingly, if consumers are less impulsive, they are also allowing themselves more indulgent purchases, such as beers, chocolates, and sweets. How can we reposition a category that is driven by impulse? That's an interesting question to explore.

These are some points we are mapping to ensure that our clients have their Brand, Business, and Communication strategies integrated and that they connect with their customers in the most relevant and memorable way. And your packaging? Is it performing well digitally?