Coffee is still whats gets you through the day. Even in a time when it seems as if the world itself has been turned upside down, you still wake up every morning and head straight to the coffee maker in your kitchen. You are nearly out of the single serve paper coffee bags that have been your favorite for years, but you have found a suitable replacement when those favorite paper coffee bags are gone. By carefully studying the printed resealable pouches that you found at the store, you were able to identify another brand that nearly mirrors your typical choice.
From protein powder bags to vegetable and fruit packaging and from paper coffee bags to chocolate candy bags to organic tea packaging, there has rarely been a time when consumers have spent so much, and sometimes so little, time examining labels. During this pandemic, in fact, the time at a grocery store is measured differently. With many stores placing directional signs on the floor as well as marking stopping points in the check out lines to keep people six feet apart, the idea of taking the time to read a label may seem almost foreign. To some shoppers, however, the sense of normalcy that comes from scanning the ingredient lists on a package label can bring a certain kind of clam and confidence.
Are You Able to Find the Products You Need When You Shop for Groceries?
When finding a package of yeast has become more like a treasure hunt than a trip to the store, it should come as no surprise that there are many consumers who are bringing different kinds of products home from the store. Fortunately, by taking the time to glance at ingredients ahead of time, many people are still able to purchase products that will allow them to find items that are at least similar to what they have purchased in the past.
Not surprising, as many as 85% of shoppers indicate that they make purchase decisions based on information they gain by reading a product package while shopping.
In fact, businesses that pay close attention to packaging have reported a 30% increase in consumer interest. And during a time when the grocery shopping experience is very different for many Americans, these labels provide increasingly important information. A 2016 West Rock Consumer Insights Study revealed that 66% of consumers have tried a new product because the packaging caught their eye, but in today’s different reality it may actually be less about the fancy packaging and more about the list of ingredients that consumers are looking at. Even when you cannot find the same paper coffee bags that you have purchased in the past, you can look at the information on the label of a competing brand to understand your options.
Consumers are fickle creatures, and in a time when the brands and products that they have purchased for years may not be available, there is much to be learned about the kind of alternative brands that people select. Unfortunately, in some parts of the country items are flying off the shelves so quickly that they may not be much time to do any kind of market research. In the future, however, when the nation returns to some new kind of normal, you can be certain that there will be studies done that indicate the kind of impact that packaging and ingredients lists have had on the Covid-19 consumers.
Scientists, politicians, medical professionals, and consumers are all living in very different times, but there will continue to be an impact on the packaging that is used on many of the most needed products. Creating the most efficient and sanitary ways of packaging needed personal protection equipment to guarantee its reliability, in fact, is just one of the ways that companies are reframing their services.
When you look at the products that are in your cupboards at home right now they may be very different from the ones that you may have purchased in the past, but when it comes time to make dinner you will be thankful for the items that you do have and the fact that you can still create some source of normalcy by providing a sit down dinner for your family.