Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions

Which label would you choose? The one with the monkey, right?

Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the shelf … The number may seem far greater when consumers go to the store to select a craft beer. The product label, however, can attract consumer attention and drive purchase intent, according to a new study conducted by Package InSight at Clemson University and sponsored by Avery Dennison.

The study examined the shelf impact of craft beer labels when products were positioned in a simulated retail store environment. The study’s results are important to helping craft brewers understand consumer preference. Insight provided could help savvy brewers compete in this flourishing category comprised of 3,418 breweries with volume growth of 18.6 percent and 22 percent retail growth between 2013 and 2014 (Brewers Association). In fact, 615 new breweries opened in 2014, representing a 19 percent increase.

Participants “shop” in realistic setting

Figure 7-Heat map of Avery planogram-Avery High Res Heat Map

A heat map: Red is the strongest views.

The craft beer study was conducted in the CUshop Consumer Experience Laboratory at Clemson University. The facility provides a representative shopping environment with 12-foot shopping aisles and frozen food, produce and refrigerated areas. Package Insights collaborated with Avery Dennison to present a typical planogram from a local beer distributor. During the two-day study, 193 “shoppers” (109 female, 84 male) wore calibrated, eye tracking glasses while selecting products from a list. Participant eye movements were recorded to provide insight as to why individuals selected certain products.

More than 180 of the participants were craft beer buyers who had purchased craft beer in a store sometime during the past three months. Approximately 40 percent purchased craft beer at least weekly or every two weeks. Study participants ranged in age from under 21 to over 65, with 55 percent of respondents between 21 and 39.

Here’s an example scan path of participants.

During the quantitative study, participants viewed six Avery Dennison pressure sensitive labels — paper, matte film, white gloss film, metallic, wood veneer and clear printed. Each participant viewed one of the six Avery Dennison labels on the shelf with nine other bombers — 22-ounce bottles. The six Avery Dennison labels rotated so that 30 participants viewed the shelf set with the paper label, another 30 viewed the shelf set with the matte film label, 30 with the metallic label, etc. All packages were assigned numbers and participants recorded the number that correlated with the beer they selected.

Quantitative data reveal participant eye movements, choices

Eye movement metrics helped shed light on why shoppers chose specific craft beer products. A heat map (to the right) drawn from the entire participant pool confirmed study participants’ aggregate total fixation duration (TFD). The green in the map indicates participants observed the area. Yellow indicates participants viewed certain product areas longer, with red areas viewed the longest.

The scan path (to the right) illustrates a single participant’s eye movement when navigating the planogram. The path is combined with the TFD measurement (indicated by larger circles) to create a visual representation of where a participant looked and how long the person spent viewing certain areas.

Time to first fixation

The graph shows the time, in seconds, from when the craft beer product first entered a participant’s field of vision until the person fixated on it. The lower the number, the better the package performed. White gloss film and wood veneer performed the best followed closely by metalized film.