The Power of Packaging: How Strategic Design Drives Growth in North America
Discover packaging strategies that move shoppers to buy. IMI data reveals what works across North American categories, from attention to action.
You can have every component in place; a great product, strong distribution, the right insight, but if the brand isn’t brought to life in a relevant and compelling way that is better than competition, it won’t connect and most importantly; it won’t gain momentum for sustainable growth. Bringing a brand to life has many levers, we all know this. We’ve studied all the levers of the marketing mix at IMI International for over 50 years, but also I’ve learned about them all through experience working in agencies, on client-side and on the not-for-profit sides of the marketing business.
One of your owned assets is staring right at you constantly and one of the most overlooked opportunities to stand out and connect - packaging.
At the point of purchase, it becomes a critical part of the decision-making process, yet it’s still one of the most underutilized levers in the marketing mix. Strong strategically driven packaging design and communication with the right visual cues and messaging has the power to stop consumers in the aisle or on-line and engage them in an integral moment where you have seconds to turn their attention into lasting business results.
So why waste the moment? You have the opportunity to and need to make every inch of your packaging work hard for you.
Why Packaging Effectiveness Matters
We know through IMI’s proprietary database, IMI Pulse, at a high level, that over 50% of North Americans are influenced by packaging, with the impact especially strong in the U.S. and Mexico. But the story goes deeper. Packaging’s influence isn’t uniform; it shifts dramatically by category, market, and audience segment. That nuance is important and is where marketers can truly gain an edge.
Take weekly purchasers of women's beauty products, for example. 73% of people who purchase this category say they’ve bought a product because of its packaging appeal; proof that design and presentation can drive purchase, connection and trial.
Similarly, in alcoholic coolers, 67% of purchasers say the packaging motivates their decision. In a space driven by lifestyle cues and impulse purchases, the look and feel of the product can be the deciding factor between brands that otherwise offer near-identical formulations or price points. For marketers, these patterns underscore a critical insight: packaging isn’t just a branding exercise - it’s behavioral science at work. It captures attention, triggers emotion, and conveys value in the few seconds that matter most.
Understanding how those triggers vary across categories and audiences allows marketers to tailor packaging not just to stand out, but to convert awareness into action.
The Demographic Divide
If you’re looking to engage the younger cohorts – packaging plays an even larger role. Gen Z and Millennials are far more responsive to packaging at closer to 60%, than Gen X and Boomers at 44% and 33% respectively. It doesn’t mean that packaging doesn’t matter to these generations, but it does mean that younger consumers are making decisions with their eyes, putting even more pressure on packaging to connect quickly and clearly.
For brands targeting these demographics, packaging is an essential part of your marketing mix, so you need to get it right. Also, it may be interesting to you that it’s not just women responding to design: 56% of men have done the same, compared to 47% of women; a 9-point difference driven primarily by U.S. shoppers.
In Canada, the gap narrows, showing how local market dynamics shape perception and behavior. As always, knowing your consumer and what drives their purchase is essential to help drive dividends for your business. If you skip this step, you risk wasting not only cash spend but time and productivity…and we all know that there is a cost to that!
What Great Packaging Gets Right
Over the years, IMI’s measurement and exploration has shown that creative execution can lift in-market performance by 2.5x. This means that you can focus on your packaging but exactly HOW you bring it to life, the visual cues, the messaging and the hierarchy make a clear difference in performance. The difference comes down to critical factors, measured with relative weighting to uncover which articulation will drive you forward to unlock growth.
Consider whether your packaging is doing this:
Are you capturing attention and standing out? First impressions count
Are you better than competition, breaking through in a competitive environment? Stand out or risk blending in
Are you changing behavior and encouraging purchasing? Drive interest and then purchase
Are you enhancing brand equity and/or changing brand opinion? Build your brand at all touchpoints
Are you engaging consumers and encouraging learning? Ease of understanding is critical as time is limited.
Are you effectively communicating your brand benefit? Simplicity of information is key
Is what you are showing and saying connecting with your current or potential consumers? Knowing if what you are saying and showing is relevant is critical to connect.
The Payoff
When you get packaging right, it doesn’t just sit on the shelf - it moves people and most importantly, your brand. It turns browsers into buyers, makes your marketing spend work harder, and builds stronger connections with the audiences that matter most.
Packaging is your brand’s first impression, billboard, and sales pitch in one. Nail it, and you’re not just competing - you’re winning where decisions are made. limited marketing dollars and budgets tightening every year, make sure you’re leveraging this owned asset to its full potential.
Ready to make your packaging do more of the selling? We use proven testing strategies and tools to make packaging work harder. Contact us to explore what’s right for your brand.