Small change, big change – Increasing attention with product package variations

Sophie Lacoste-Badie (1) , Junwei Yu (2, 3) , Olivier Droulers (3)

1 LUMEN - Lille University Management Lab - ULR 4999
2 GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management
3 CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of front-of-pack (FOP) variations on consumer attention. In a laboratory experiment using an eye-tracking method, the authors exposed 165 respondents to planograms containing target products displaying identical FOPs or FOPs with variations. Attention was measured by fixation duration and fixation counts, and eye movements were recorded at 250 Hz. The findings showed that FOP variations catch respondents’ attention. Visual saliency has often been defined as a physical property of an object (such as color, shape, motion). In the current study, we show the importance of also taking into account the interaction of one stimulus with other stimuli. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the effects of FOP variations have been investigated. On a managerial level, the current study offers a simple and low-priced solution to cut through the clutter and catch consumers’ attention, which is the first step to a product purchase.

Mots clés: FOP variation; product package; eye-tracking; attention Paper type Short Communication

Domaines: Gestion et management

Sophie Lacoste-Badie, Junwei Yu, Olivier Droulers. Small change, big change – Increasing attention with product package variations. Food Quality and Preference, 2020, 86, pp.104007. ⟨10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104007⟩. ⟨hal-04445762v3⟩