Thursday 12 July 2012

What do consumers REALLY look at in the store?

How does a company like Unilever know what packaging will catch your attention from the crowded supermarket shelf? Eye-tracking technology is the key.

Consumers can't always articulate what they need or like, so researchers have devised various techniques for digging deeper to find out what really drives the decision-making process. Neuromarketing, which includes eye-tracking and fMRI testing, offers insights into consumers' physiological reactions to packages, ads, and other marketing tactics.

The image above shows how long and how often consumers in one Unilever test looked at particular packages on a simulated store shelf. Researchers in several areas, including London and Mumbai, are using eye-tracking to gauge local consumers' reactions to Unilever products. Neuromarketing isn't used by the majority of marketers--yet--but it is a promising technique for deeper understanding of what consumers feel about brands and products.