Packaging and Shelf Testing

Packaging and shelf testing covers pack designs assessed on their own and pack designs assessed among the packs around them. These answer different questions and are set up differently. This article explains both.

ASSESSING A SINGLE PACK

Upload the front of pack artwork, or the panel you want assessed. Each panel is a separate upload.

The question on a single pack is whether the brand block, the variant name and the claim are found, and in what order. Mark each of these as an area of interest so you get figures for them individually.

Time to Discover is the value that matters most here. Variant confusion on shelf often comes from the order elements are found in rather than from the design of the elements themselves, and Time to Discover is the only value that shows you that order. See Time to Discover.

Read Clarity alongside this. A pack where the variant name is found quickly but Clarity sits below the benchmark usually has a contrast or hierarchy problem rather than a placement one.

ASSESSING A PACK ON SHELF

Upload the shelf image with the pack in position. The pack is assessed alongside everything else in the image, including competitor packs.

The question here is standout. Switch the visual view to Fogmap and check whether the pack sits in a clear area or a hidden one. A pack in a hidden area is not being found on shelf, whatever it scores in isolation.

Use the Heatmap to see which packs on the shelf are drawing attention instead, which tells you what you are competing against rather than only how you performed.

COMPARING DESIGN OPTIONS

To choose between pack designs, upload each one and assess them against the same objective with the same areas of interest marked, using the same AOI types. See A/B creative testing using predictive AI.

Run each design both on its own and on shelf. A design that performs well in isolation can still be lost among the packs around it, and that difference only shows up when both are tested.

PACKAGING RESEARCH WITH PARTICIPANTS

This analysis predicts what is noticed on a pack. For packaging research with real respondents, covering preference, comprehension and purchase intent, see Shopper and packaging.