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Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions

August 3, 2015Laura Clark

Steel Monkey IPA bottles
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.

Example scan path
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.

Chart 2

 

 

Click “Next” to continue reading, or you’ll never learn about total fixation duration (and that’s really the key to most things).

 

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

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Comments

  1. haveabeerboutit says

    August 7, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: 1st Impressions: Measure the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions @AveryDennison http://t.co/UBHwOSEF8N h…

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  2. AveryDennison says

    August 7, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: 1st Impressions: Measure the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions @AveryDennison http://t.co/UBHwOSEF8N h…

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  3. iwillbefrank says

    August 6, 2015 at 5:15 pm

    Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions http://t.co/WTqH87LJhP

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  4. thelocalbrand says

    August 6, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    RT @coasterfactory: Measuring the impact of label design on craft beer purchase decisions :: http://t.co/RdwpB4eVL1 #graphicDesign #brandin…

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  5. belgiumdesigner says

    August 6, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    RT @coasterfactory: Measuring the impact of label design on craft beer purchase decisions :: http://t.co/RdwpB4eVL1 #graphicDesign #brandin…

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  6. coasterfactory says

    August 6, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    Measuring the impact of label design on craft beer purchase decisions :: http://t.co/RdwpB4eVL1 #graphicDesign #branding #marketing

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  7. PRPirates2 says

    August 6, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    How important is labeling when it comes to #craftbeer? #D2 #PR via Craft Brewing Business… http://t.co/Yo5Hu8DI9z

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  8. BeerLawCenter says

    August 6, 2015 at 12:04 pm

    Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions http://t.co/ALijZ00sB1 @CraftBrewingBiz

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  9. Ken Mortensen says

    August 6, 2015 at 7:07 am

    Ken Mortensen liked this on Facebook.

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  10. Mike Bernstein says

    August 6, 2015 at 7:07 am

    Mike Bernstein liked this on Facebook.

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  11. DidYouSayBeer says

    August 6, 2015 at 12:13 am

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

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  12. JR1BY says

    August 5, 2015 at 8:23 pm

    great #casestudy – Measuring the impact of #labels on craft #beer purchase #decisions. http://t.co/adkIOdzCRi via @craftbrewingbiz

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  13. BeerEinstein says

    August 5, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions – http://t.co/KVQY8GWv8j #beer #craftbeer #brewery

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  14. TzChrissie says

    August 5, 2015 at 2:22 pm

    Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions https://t.co/OwZg7n374G

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  15. BeerAgentUKSean says

    August 5, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    RT @CODODesign: “I won’t purchase another brand unless the packaging attracts me.”

    Great piece from @CraftBrewingBiz

    http://t.co/jPKXyDJ…

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  16. Brian Tennis says

    August 4, 2015 at 11:40 pm

    A great label can’t make up for shitty beer.

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  17. scotthill996 says

    August 4, 2015 at 8:19 pm

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  18. felvini says

    August 4, 2015 at 5:47 pm

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

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  19. Digitallabelsca says

    August 4, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  20. BrewStudNo1 says

    August 4, 2015 at 11:43 am

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  21. phycoinsc says

    August 4, 2015 at 11:34 am

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  22. Serge Lubomudrov says

    August 4, 2015 at 10:36 am

    Serge Lubomudrov liked this on Facebook.

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  23. CODODesign says

    August 4, 2015 at 10:23 am

    “I won’t purchase another brand unless the packaging attracts me.”

    Great piece from @CraftBrewingBiz

    http://t.co/jPKXyDJoc0

    Log in to Reply
  24. Ohio_Digital says

    August 4, 2015 at 10:18 am

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  25. The_Clocktower says

    August 4, 2015 at 10:02 am

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  26. craftbangkok says

    August 4, 2015 at 9:55 am

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  27. carlu_fra says

    August 4, 2015 at 9:50 am

    RT @BrewStuds: Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  28. BrewStuds says

    August 4, 2015 at 9:35 am

    Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions http://t.co/WUezTGC6V5 #branding http://t.co/dQ4VztnWds

    Log in to Reply
  29. Star_Label says

    August 4, 2015 at 9:32 am

    #BeerPackaging #labeling
    http://t.co/DaKk6oDZdY

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  30. Krones AG says

    August 4, 2015 at 2:11 am

    Krones AG liked this on Facebook.

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  31. Blake's Hard Cider Co. says

    August 4, 2015 at 1:30 am

    Blake’s Hard Cider Co. liked this on Facebook.

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  32. Brad Beneski says

    August 4, 2015 at 1:30 am

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  33. Daniel Kearsey says

    August 4, 2015 at 1:30 am

    Daniel Kearsey liked this on Facebook.

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  34. hecks_bar_kinde says

    August 3, 2015 at 11:19 pm

    RT @MeasuredMethods: Once again, @craftbrewingbiz for the win! ‘Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions’ http://t.c…

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  35. AmalgamLabels says

    August 3, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    RT @Labeltronix: Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions http://t.co/lzMAvio9hs @CraftBrewingBiz http://t.co/D3kHTz…

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  36. BrewandCovered says

    August 3, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions…… http://t.co/yuQX1GexVz

    Log in to Reply
  37. USbevX says

    August 3, 2015 at 5:22 pm

    RT @Labeltronix: Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions http://t.co/lzMAvio9hs @CraftBrewingBiz http://t.co/D3kHTz…

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  38. Labeltronix says

    August 3, 2015 at 4:56 pm

    Measuring the impact of labels on craft beer purchase decisions http://t.co/lzMAvio9hs @CraftBrewingBiz http://t.co/D3kHTzBTE0

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  39. Joe Kelleher says

    August 3, 2015 at 1:21 pm

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  40. Marilee Rutherford says

    August 3, 2015 at 1:21 pm

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  41. liverbashers says

    August 3, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    RT @MeasuredMethods: Once again, @craftbrewingbiz for the win! ‘Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions’ http://t.c…

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  42. Eric D Lussier says

    August 3, 2015 at 12:51 pm

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    August 3, 2015 at 12:51 pm

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    August 3, 2015 at 12:51 pm

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  45. Nate Underwood says

    August 3, 2015 at 12:51 pm

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  46. Bacon_And_Legs says

    August 3, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    RT @MeasuredMethods: Once again, @craftbrewingbiz for the win! ‘Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions’ http://t.c…

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  47. MeasuredMethods says

    August 3, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    Once again, @craftbrewingbiz for the win! ‘Measuring the impact of labels on #craftbeer purchase decisions’ http://t.co/WJqsjHaTYq

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Trackbacks

  1. How to Create Off-the-Shelf Impact with your Label - GSM Magazine says:
    December 7, 2020 at 1:25 am

    […] adhesive labels are often used in the beverage market – a highly competitive environment. To make your product stand out on the shelf, BJ Ball have recently introduced Wausau’s […]

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  2. Unique Beer Labels That Stand Out from the Competition | Blue Label Digital says:
    February 6, 2018 at 3:28 pm

    […] from a friend? A discounted price? Science says it’s all in the label. In fact, there is a heavy correlation between your fixation duration and product selection when it comes to beer. So how do you make your […]

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