--- title: Why Packaging Design Matters in Today's Market description: In an increasingly competitive retail environment, packaging design is a powerful marketing tool to help brands stand out and create a unique identity. image: https://blog.marketresearch.com/hubfs/Images/Blog_Images/Packaging.jpg --- [![MarketResearch.com](https://blog.marketresearch.com/hs-fs/hub/209482/file-22777923.gif?width=295&height=66&name=file-22777923.gif "MarketResearch.com")](https://www.marketresearch.com/) [Market Research Blog](https://blog.marketresearch.com/) # Why Packaging Design Matters in Today's Market by [Esther Palevsky](https://blog.marketresearch.com/author/esther-palevsky), on August 3, 2016 ![Packaging.jpg](https://blog.marketresearch.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Images/Blog_Images/Packaging.jpg?width=300&height=196&name=Packaging.jpg)While we know it’s important to not judge a book by its cover, this idea disappears when it comes to everyday shopping and buying decisions. With the average supermarket in the US carrying more than [40,000 items](http://www.fmi.org/research-resources/supermarket-facts), brand owners face a daunting task in attracting attention to their products. In addition, the majority of buying decisions are made in stores. These factors make attractive and distinctive packaging a key component in the marketing of retail products. The array of choices in many categories further elevates the importance of package appearance when deciding on which product to buy. “Hmm …. Should I just buy the same brand I always get? Or what about that one with the snazzy package that I can reclose? Maybe it’ll stay fresher longer?” The look of the package affects how a given product is perceived in terms of quality and palatability. The appearance of the package is also essential in providing a unique identity, enabling a product to stand out from the competition. When viewing shelves of different products, the package essentially *is* the product in the eyes of consumers. Retail shelf space is also at a premium for “center store” packaged goods as changing food preferences lead supermarkets to expand their focus on “perimeter” areas such as produce, prepared foods, deli, and bakery. Other retailers have jumped into the selling of food in a bigger way in the past several years. These include supercenters, drug stores, club stores, and dollar stores. After years of stores getting bigger and bigger, smaller stores are now increasingly popular, with Walmart, Target, and [Whole Foods Market](http://fortune.com/2016/02/10/whole-foods-365-earnings/) opening smaller footprint versions of their stores in urban areas. All of these trends are increasing the significance of visually appealing packaging in consumer purchasing decisions. Club stores and no-frills [deep discount grocery stores](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-22/wal-mart-loses-everyday-low-price-edge-as-aldi-opens-across-u-s) have seen healthy sales growth in the past decade and continue to open new stores. These stores display most of their merchandise from shipping containers placed on pallets rather than on traditional shelves. This model provides increased operational efficiency and reduces labor costs since items can be brought out for display without the unpacking of inner contents. It also increases the importance of the appearance of the outer packaging in attracting the attention of consumers and getting them to buy various products. Traditional supermarkets and other food retailers have also caught on to the advantages of using display-ready packaging in some parts of their stores as well.  So yes, appearance is not everything, but it certainly does go a long way in helping us choose one product over another.  ### Find Out More About Packaging Trends The Freedonia Group, a leading international research firm, publishes a number of [studies on packaging](http://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry.aspx?ReferrerId=RF-BLOG&industryid=pack) topics, including specific products and markets. Topics include: - Retail Ready Packaging - Corrugated & Paperboard Boxes - Food Containers: Rigid & Flexible - Pouches - Foodservice Disposables - Produce Packaging - Meat, Poultry, & Seafood Packaging - Wine Packaging - Labels [![Click to Packaging-Related Studies by Freedonia  ➨](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/209482/4a3f8cbb-d648-4733-af93-632a02259647.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/209482/4a3f8cbb-d648-4733-af93-632a02259647) --- ### Related Articles - [3 Food Packaging Trends to Watch](https://blog.marketresearch.com/3-food-packaging-trends-to-watch) - [7 Key Packaging Trends for 2019 & Beyond](https://blog.marketresearch.com/7-key-packaging-trends-for-2019-beyond) - [When Shopping Online, the Packaging Sends a Message](https://blog.marketresearch.com/when-shopping-online-the-packaging-sends-a-message) Topics: [Food & Beverage](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/food-beverage) [Retail](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/retail) [Marketing](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/marketing) [Industry Insights](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/industry-insights) [The Freedonia Group](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/the-freedonia-group) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![Will Self-Driving Vehicles Be a Reality by 2025? White Paper](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/209482/3fb25279-b81e-43f2-b2ee-bb44347bff07.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/209482/3fb25279-b81e-43f2-b2ee-bb44347bff07) Search Blog Posts Search ### About This Blog Our goal is to help you better understand your customer, market, and competition in order to help drive your business growth. ### Subscribe ### Popular Posts - [A CEO’s Perspective on Harnessing AI for Market Research Excellence](https://blog.marketresearch.com/a-ceos-perspective-on-harnessing-ai-for-market-research-excellence) - [7 Key Advantages of Outsourcing Market Research Services](https://blog.marketresearch.com/7-key-advantages-of-outsourcing-market-research) - [How to Use Market Research for Onboarding and Training Employees](https://blog.marketresearch.com/how-to-use-market-research-for-onboarding-and-training-employees) - [10 Global Industries That Will Boom in the Next 5 Years](https://blog.marketresearch.com/10-global-industries-that-will-boom-in-the-next-5-years) - [Primary Data vs. Secondary Data: Market Research Methods](https://blog.marketresearch.com/not-all-market-research-data-is-equal) ### Recent Posts ### Posts by Topic - [Industry Insights (950)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/industry-insights) - [Market Research Strategy (276)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/market-research-strategy) - [Food & Beverage (140)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/food-beverage) - [Healthcare (139)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/healthcare) - [The Freedonia Group (121)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/the-freedonia-group) - [How To's (110)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/how-tos) - [Market Research Provider (98)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/market-research-provider) - [Manufacturing & Construction (90)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/manufacturing-construction) - [Pharmaceuticals (89)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/pharmaceuticals) - [Packaged Facts (78)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/packaged-facts) - [Telecommunications & Wireless (74)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/telecommunications-wireless) - [Heavy Industry (72)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/heavy-industry) - [Software & Enterprise Computing (68)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/software-enterprise-computing) - [Transportation & Shipping (64)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/transportation-shipping) - [Energy & Resources (60)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/energy-resources) - [Retail (60)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/retail) - [Marketing (58)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/marketing) - [Profound (57)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/profound) - [Medical Devices (55)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/medical-devices) - [House & Home (53)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/house-home) - [Materials & Chemicals (53)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/materials-chemicals) - [Pets (50)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/pets) - [Consumer Electronics (47)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/consumer-electronics) - [Public Sector (43)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/public-sector) - [Biotechnology (41)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/biotechnology) - [E-commerce & IT Outsourcing (40)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/e-commerce-it-outsourcing) - [Business Services & Administration (39)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/business-services-administration) - [Diagnostics (38)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/diagnostics) - [Demographics (37)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/demographics) - [Education (36)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/education) - [Custom Market Research (35)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/custom-market-research) - [Travel & Leisure (34)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/travel-leisure) - [Academic (33)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/academic) - [Financial Services (32)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/financial-services) - [Media (32)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/media) - [Computer Hardware & Networking (30)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/computer-hardware-networking) - [Simba Information (24)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/simba-information) - [Kalorama Information (21)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/kalorama-information) - [Cosmetics & Personal Care (19)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/cosmetics-personal-care) - [Knowledge Centers (19)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/knowledge-centers) - [Apparel (18)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/apparel) - [Market Research Subscription (16)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/market-research-subscription) - [Social Media (16)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/social-media) - [Advertising (14)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/advertising) - [Big Data (14)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/big-data) - [Holiday (11)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/holiday) - [Emerging Markets (8)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/emerging-markets) - [SEO (8)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/seo) - [Artificial Intelligence (5)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/artificial-intelligence) - [medical (4)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/medical) - [generative AI (2)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/generative-ai) - [mining (2)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/mining) - [Agriculture (1)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/agriculture) - [Associations (1)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/associations) - [Religion (1)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/religion) - [coaching (1)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/coaching) - [electricity (1)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/electricity) - [refineries (1)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/refineries) - [space battery (1)](https://blog.marketresearch.com/topic/space-battery) [see all](https://blog.marketresearch.com/3-reasons-why-packaging-design-matters-in-todays-market#) ### Contact **MarketResearch.com** 6116 Executive Blvd Suite 550 Rockville, MD 20852 800.298.5699 (U.S.) +1.240.747.3093 (International) [customerservice@marketresearch.com](mailto:customerservice@marketresearch.com) ### From Our Blog ### Subscribe to Blog ### CONNECT WITH US [![LinkedIn](https://static.hsappstatic.net/social_shared/static-2.2815/img/followme/icon_linkedin.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketresearch) [![Twitter](https://static.hsappstatic.net/social_shared/static-2.2815/img/followme/icon_twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/MarketResearch_) [![Facebook](https://static.hsappstatic.net/social_shared/static-2.2815/img/followme/icon_facebook.png)](https://www.facebook.com/MarketResearchDotCom) [![YouTube](https://static.hsappstatic.net/social_shared/static-2.2815/img/followme/icon_youtube.png)](https://www.youtube.com/user/MarketResearchDotCom) [![Pinterest](https://static.hsappstatic.net/social_shared/static-2.2815/img/followme/icon_pinterest.png)](https://www.pinterest.com/mrktresearch/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Esther Palevsky", "url" : "https://blog.marketresearch.com/author/esther-palevsky" }, "dateModified" : "2022-06-14T17:39:34.618Z", "datePublished" : "2016-08-03T12:30:00.000Z", "headline" : "Why Packaging Design Matters in Today's Market", "image" : [ "https://blog.marketresearch.com/hubfs/Images/Blog_Images/Packaging.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.marketresearch.com/3-reasons-why-packaging-design-matters-in-todays-market", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.marketresearch.com/hubfs/Logos/mrdclogo_email.png" }, "name" : "MarketResearch.com, LLC" } } ```