When it comes to luxury, expectations go far beyond the quality of products alone, and crafting a sense of exclusivity and prestige is the key to winning affluent customers over.
It all starts with the packaging, because first impressions count. Get that bit wrong, and you’ve already lost the chance to tempt customers to experience and fall in love with your offerings, which is why creating just the right aesthetic is key to building a strong and alluring brand identity that becomes nothing short of magnetic.
Professor Ben Voyer, a distinguished figure at the intersection of consumer psychology and marketing who is renowned for his expertise in understanding the deeper motivations behind consumer behaviour, believes that packaging in the luxury market is an art form that intricately weaves psychology, emotion and consumer behaviour, shaping perceptions and driving purchasing decisions – and that its power is something that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Luxury markets, renowned for their resilience in economic downturns, are sustained by the unique purchasing patterns of consumers who persist in indulging despite broader financial challenges. The evolving dynamics of these transactions underscore a shift towards making fewer purchases but spending more on them, at the same time emphasising just how vital understanding and appealing to consumer emotions really is.
Packing, when done right, serves as a timeless symbol of exclusivity and prestige and from the iconic Burberry check to the unforgettable design of a perfume bottle or candle jars, creates an immediate sense of allure and ensures enduring brand resonance in the minds of discerning consumers.
“It’s something that is often ignored or not thought about,” Voyer said in a recent interview with London Packaging Week. “With a lot of the packaging we’re doing, we view luxury as a habit, but there is not much deeper reflection about the consumer decision-making process and how packaging is processed and perceived emotionally, especially by consumers.”
For luxury and beauty brands in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) sector, personalisation can make or break customer loyalty.
“The more you get to know your customers, the more you know their preferences,” he explains. “The key is to build an offering in the packaging that directly reflects these preferences, and it’s becoming increasingly important for luxury and beauty brands, especially when you’re in the direct-to-customer field where your customers, most DTC brands, tend to be built around communities and consumers that are part of the community.
“In the world of luxury, you care as much about what consumers see as what consumers do not see. So, if you think about some of the biggest luxury brands in the world, like Hermes, when they make a shirt or make a T-shirt, they care as much about the inseam inside that you will never see the overall look or feel of the fabric. And that’s the attention to detail, the drive for absolute perfection that is part and parcel of the DNA of a luxury brand.”
Unlike everyday retail purchases, where packaging is often discarded, luxury packaging is designed to be kept and cherished, serving as a lasting reminder of each extraordinary purchase and reinforcing brand identity.
“For luxury brands, packaging is the tangible part of the experience,” says Voyer. “A luxury store is something that is unique and something that causes the consumer to see a lot of value in the products that they want to purchase. However, the packaging is what will stay with the consumer. They will keep the packaging, and it is common for people who buy luxury shoes to keep the shoe box. You would not do that if you go and buy a pair of Nike shoes or Adidas shoes, but if you buy a pair of luxury shoes, you will keep the packaging. If you buy a handbag, it will not just come in a cardboard box. It will be a proper fabric bag. Packaging is that tangible reminder that you’ve bought something that is out of the ordinary, which is what luxury is about.”
Voyer’s talk, “The Science Behind Behaviour: How and Why Consumers Make Choices,” is set to delve even further into the topic at London Packaging Week between 10:45 AM and 11:15 AM on Wednesday, September 11, and promises to offer some intriguing insights into what high-end brands can do to leverage this powerful tool in their favour.
