29 September 2022

The pack of the future between the real and virtual shelf. Roger Botti's article in September's Mark up

When we talk about packaging, we are used to thinking about how it works and how the product performs in the physical store.
Identity building, visibility and clarity of information, the ability to stand out from competitors on the shelf at the point of sale. But the market is constantly evolving and daily interaction with companies gives rise to demands for appropriate solutions.

There is a need for a synthesis led by the growing weight of e-commerce in consumer habits. 
Packaging designed to “give answers” to consumers in the aisles of a supermarket doesn't prove as effective when the same consumer is shopping from the couch at home, smartphone or tablet in hand.

Does this make it necessary to approach pack design by thinking in terms of reconciling the “real” version on the shelf with the “virtual” version on delivery apps or online, where they are currently inadequate, illegible and unrecognisable?
A change of paradigm.

The idea, however, is that this phenomenon is shedding light on the need for a generalised synthesis, a simplification of signs and images in the packaging of the future. The impetus to rethink in-store packaging, readjusting it to the new parameters, stems from a technical necessity. It is not a matter of binning the old and replacing it with the new, but of creating a virtuous integration by adapting today's languages to tomorrow's tools.

At a time when everyone has less and less time to choose products, companies always have a duty (and an opportunity) to be ready to meet evolving needs.

See the full article in September’s Mark up