Marketing, sales and consumer behaviour – May 2021

Market for sustainable plastics
According to a new report from Lux Research, sustainable plastics will make up more than 15% of production by 2030. You can download a summary of the report after filling in your details.

How packaging influences consumer purchasing behaviour
A University of Oxford literature study (284 kB) published in Foods finds that adding a glossy/shiny finish to one’s packaging is not always a good idea in terms of the consumer’s associations. In part, this is because of growing concerns about sustainability. However, it is also because of the association that greasy foods tend to come in glossy packaging while matte packaging tends to be associated with more natural foods.
A University of Reading study (4.25 MB) also published in Foods evaluates the sensory characteristics of paper-based prototype packages for biscuits and meat.
A literature study (586 kB) on how packaging influences consumer purchasing behaviour is published in the Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government. The authors are from Teerthanker Mahaveer University in India.

Weight loss changes people’s responsiveness to food marketing
According to a new study by the UBC Sauder School of Business, people with obesity tend to be more responsive to food marketing — but when their weight drops significantly, so does their responsiveness to marketing. The study (abstract) is published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

Consumers – environment and sustainability
According to new research (3.41 MB) by Trivium Packaging, 83% of consumers among younger generations (<44) are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging.
Wunderman Thompson Intelligence has published “Regeneration Rising: Sustainability Futures,” a new report that unpacks the emerging and future trends in sustainability. The report finds that 81% of respondents say that if brands make it easier to reuse or recycle their products and packaging, they are more likely to make a purchase. You can download the report after filling in your details.
To understand consumer experience of packaging recycling and the sustainability choices they are faced with, Consumers International conducted a study (784 kB) on the packaging of 11 internationally available branded products across nine countries. One of the findings is that consumers in all nine countries are unable to easily recycle all packaging in practice.

Health warnings on alcohol products could be effective
Introducing prominent health warnings on alcohol products could be effective in increasing awareness of the potential harms of drinking alcohol, according to a new study by the University of Stirling involving young adult drinkers in Scotland. An article (1.99 MB) about the research is published in Addiction Research & Theory.

Misunderstanding food date labelling
Misunderstanding food date labelling is common and educational communications are needed to improve consumer understanding, according to a new study (1.61 MB) in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier. The main author is from The George Washington University. In a consumer survey (in Swedish with an English summary, 2.74 MB) by the Swedish Food Agency Livsmedelsverket (in Swedish) 70% of the Swedish consumers say they are confused by 'use by' dates on food packaging.
 

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