Brand packaging that wins the fight for shelf attention

Consumers are inundated with choices, often making purchasing decisions in a split second. The challenge? Ensuring that your product catches their eye, resonates with their needs and convinces them to make the purchase — all within those crucial first few moments.

Nearly three-quarters of American consumers say their purchase decisions ride on a product’s packaging, per an Ipsos study. Yet without data-driven insights based on pre-market testing, brands risk missing the mark and wasting valuable resources on packaging that doesn’t perform as expected.

Pre-market testing helps brands get it right the first time. By evaluating package design and messaging before products reach shelves, brands can avoid costly in-market adjustments. Unoptimized packaging can lead to lost revenue, consumer disengagement and even reputational damage. After all, packaging is a brand’s billboard — when it makes a statement, it should be the right one.

Effective package design isn’t just about making a strong first impression — it’s about understanding why certain designs resonate while others fall flat. Consumer decisions aren’t always rational or deliberate; they’re often driven by instinct and subconscious cues.

Traditional pre-market testing relies on direct consumer feedback, which can be swayed by personal bias. Quad’s Accelerated Marketing Insights takes a different approach with customizable shopper labs. Using advanced tools like to tap into non-conscious decision-making — the split-second judgments consumers make before they even realize it. By combining advanced pre-market testing with qualitative feedback, brands get a clear, data-driven view of their packaging’s real-world performance, helping them refine and optimize before launch.

Last year, Quad conducted a study at a Milwaukee retailer, Ray’s Wine and Spirits, which included 61 participants over the age of 21 who shopped for craft beer items. A total of 474 craft beer SKUs representing 124 different brands were tested using key metrics like: Total Fixation Duration (TFD), Time to First Fixation (TTFF) and Fixation Count (FC).

Analysis of the top-performing designs, based on eye-tracking metrics and top-purchased items, revealed clear trends consistent with findings from 2020: heavily illustrated designs, minimal branding, bright colors, and the use of pressure-sensitive labels were the most effective in capturing consumer attention and driving purchases. The brands that used these design trends saw higher engagement from shoppers and, more importantly, a greater likelihood of purchase.

Heat maps illustrate where shoppers’ eyes unconsciously traveled during the study

This invaluable data helps marketers understand which design elements work best in context — before a live product even hits shelves — so brands can increase their chances of success. This type of testing is particularly beneficial for brands looking to launch new products or refresh existing packaging to stay relevant in the marketplace.

For CPG brands, Accelerated Marketing Insights offers a comprehensive suite of solutions to optimize packaging and messaging. From virtual pre-testing to in-store shopper feedback, Accelerated Marketing Insights provides the assessments needed to enhance product presentation and consumer interaction. The key products and features of Accelerated Marketing Insights include:

In the battle for shelf attention, pre-market testing is the ultimate competitive advantage. By leveraging Accelerated Marketing Insights’ advanced testing solutions, brands can make data-driven decisions that ensure their products make the right first impression. With the high cost of in-market corrections and the low survival rate for new products, investing in pre-market testing is a no-brainer.

As the adage goes, measure twice, cut once. By testing your packaging and messaging before launch, you can save time, money and resources — and increase the chances of your product becoming a market leader.