Do Product Labels Influence Buying Decisions?

_{Ian Renton  | 18/08/2014 | Product Labels}

Have you ever been to the supermarket and come back with much more than was on your list?

We've all done it. What prompted you to make these impulsive purchases? Perhaps you saw a sign that caught your attention. Maybe there was an item on special. Or perhaps, you wanted something just because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Supermarkets thrive on these impulsive decisions all of the time. This is why there are so many discounts available. They want you to be in their store and once you are there they want you to stay in the aisles as long as possible by attracting you to the many thousands of items they have for sale. We may not like to admit it, but we are all influenced by advertising. If you do not believe me, just think of ten brands that you do not currently use but can easily recognise.

There is another subtle visual stimulus at play in supermarkets. This is the ability to convince you whilst in the supermarket to switch from the brand that you normally get to another brand. It is not all about the price. If it was, then the supermarkets would only stock their Home Brands. They don't because they know there is demand for several brands of products and the supermarkets pride themselves on the wide variety of choice that they offer their customers.

Here is the big question. If you are going to the supermarket to search for a product, why is it that you do not always come away with the same brand that you got last time? One answer may be that it was not available. Alternatively, while you were looking for your product, there was an item produced by a competitor that caught your eye. Why did it catch your eye? It could not have simply been the product itself. It must have been the packaging or for products produced in plastic or glass containers such as liquid soap, olive oil, soft drinks, milk, fruit juice, tinned fruit, jam and hundreds of other products it would have been the label attached to the glass or plastic container.

So can these product labels really influence buyers decisions? They certainly can and in fact, it is the only way that you can get an impulse sale from a buyer that originally did not walk into the supermarket with the intention of buying your product. This is why major corporations that sell their products in supermarkets hire branding experts, graphic designers, lawyers and marketers.

In fact, it takes the combination of branding skills, graphic awareness, legal knowledge and marketing expertise to create a successful product label. The product label is not only needed to get new sales. It is also designed to be easily recognised and remembered so that repeat sales can also be made. Earlier this year, the topic of my Blog was that Product labels must be simple and legal.

When designing product labels, these are two of the most important components to consider. Of course, we cant all afford lawyers, branding experts and marketing experts to ensure we have the very best product label. This is why I provide as much information as possible in my blogs to assist you in designing the very best product labels.

Not everyone has the capacity or even needs to sell the products in the major supermarkets to be successful. Suppose you own a winery and want to get as much of your wine into bottle shops as you possibly can. The same principles apply.

Your label must be simple and legal. For example the alcohol content must be clearly displayed.

The advantage of wine labels is that the labels are quite large (typically about 149mm x 99mm) so you have room to be creative and attract buyers in bottle shops. To answer the question posed in the headline, product labels do have a big impact on the buying decisions of your customers and prospects so it is definitely worth your time to come up with an eye-catching and effective design.