Seductive packaging of goods `fuelling impulsive buying more than ever`

London - Shoppers are basing a whopping 76 percent of their choices on attractive packaging and appearance, a new study has revealed.

According to the 2012 Shopper Engagement Study, results revealed that even those who go shopping with the intention of sticking to a list cannot resist the temptation of good branding.

The Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) interviewed 2,400 store visitors before and after they entered a supermarket and calculated the rate by comparing the anticipated purchases and the actual items bought.

“What you find is that people will tell you they plan to do one thing, but their actual behaviour will be quite different,” the Daily Mail quoted Richard Winter, president of POPAI told MSNBC, as saying.

The findings of the study showed that with such an abundance of choice, from organic to premium to private labels, shoppers look to a brand’s marketing as a cue of what to buy.

If brands do not take advantage of in-store marketing opportunities, the study found, the shopper will simply buy another product of the same description that is better displayed.

But consumers beware, said Brian Wansink, as buying on such a whim can be costly.

“If you’re making impulse purchases, it’s likely you will spend more than you planned,” the director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University said.