How does design affect decision at point of sale?

Abstract

The paper takes as its starting point some Henley Centre research, entitled 'Frontiers', that demonstrated that 73 per cent of purchase decisions are made at point of sale. Coley Porter Bell was interested to find out how brand design affected the way consumers made those purchase decisions and commissioned some research from Research International. The results of that research and conclusions drawn from it form the basis of the paper. The research took the form of an accompanied shop — interviewing different groups of consumers before, during and after their shopping trip — to try and gain an understanding of what part design played in the process. The results were recorded, either on video or on audio tape and transcript. The paper is in three parts. The first is concerned with the research itself and looks at how consumers behave with respect to design while supermarket shopping. The second part looks at why the research reveals the important role of design in the decision-making process and the third provides practical guidelines on how to use this knowledge to the benefit of FMCG brands.