Patrick Sbarra is President of New Creature, an in-store marketing and P-O-P display company that helps Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and their suppliers to "sell more stuff." Here, he discusses factors that are impacting in-store packaging decisions.
Q: How do you think packaging design differs between club stores and mass merchandisers?
Sbarra: The primary consideration is the buying environment itself. In the mass environment, there exist 100,000-plus SKUs, versus 4,000-plus at a club. At mass, the unit package is relatively small in comparison to club. Being smaller, it will be picked up, handled, and turned around more as the shopper examines it and possibly the SKU next to it to learn more. In the club environment, the items are more likely to be presented in bulk and in much larger boxes than at mass. As most of these large boxes or units will not be handled by the consumer, it is critical that the hierarchy of decision-making information is presented on the panel directly in the consumer's line of sight.
Q: How can a consumer packaged goods company be flexible enough to produce different packaging formats for different retail environments, while still being cost-effective?
Sbarra: The advances in technology and digital printing, along with the willingness of forward-thinking packaging manufacturers to change their processes, have made the mass customization of packaging a reality. Smaller CPG companies, as well as more nimble, large CPG companies, are capitalizing on this technology to gain a competitive advantage.
Q: What packaging trends are emerging in the high-volume retail environment?
Sbarra: We see three basic trends. The first is sustainability—reducing unnecessary packaging and waste. The second is RFID, whereby tags are moving from pallet to case to unit packaging. Tracking the package, in real time, from the shop floor through the supply chain, onto the shelf, and through the cash register helps every entity that touches the package add value, reduce cost, and compress time. The third trend is simplicity. This means reducing the visual clutter on packaging that creates an obstacle for the time-starved consumer. The trend is toward less cluttered but more compelling graphics and clear copy.
By Ann Marie Mohan, Packaging World
