The Impact of Color Schemes on Visual Attention and Preferences of Product Packaging: An Eye Tracking Experiment

Abstract

Every day, whether it’s in online or offline retail environments consumers are faced with a number of offerings from different brands operating in the same market. The brands are all competing for consumer’s valuable attention and for their product or service being preferred over others. Due to the constant competition, brands need to have a good branding strategy where product packaging can serve an important role. Packaging components, especially color can have a substantial impact on how the consumer perceives the product, its value and features. Choosing the right color or color schemes for a product is therefore considered a highly important aspect of a brand’s success. The focus of this study was therefore directed towards how brands can take advantage of color schemes in their packaging to both acquire initial attention, retain it and motivate consumers to prefer their product over others in the same market. Due to its size and possibilities, the confectionery market was studied. Two particular color schemes in packaging, analogous and complementary schemes, were studied. An eye tracking experiment was conducted in combination with a survey to explore both attention and preferences and the relationship between the two. The results from the eye tracking showed no indication of either color scheme more frequently grabbing initial attention nor capturing it for a longer time. The survey also showed no significant differences in preference based on color scheme. When the data from the survey and eye tracking study were combined and statistically tested a positive correlation was found between attention duration and preferences. However, initial attention did not seem to be associated with preference. Based on these results analogous and complementary color schemes did not seem to be a determining factor in acquiring attention and consumer preference. Nonetheless the findings show indication that attention duration can predict preference to some extent.