A Gender Trap survey, carried out by Packaging Innovations show organisers easyFairs, found that 77% of those 500 marketing and packaging professionals surveyed thought women were more likely to be influenced by packaging than men.
Women aged between 20 and 30 are seen as the most easily targeted group, with 29% saying this group is most likely to be drawn by a packaging gimmick, whereas only 16% nominate men in this age range.
The perceived gender divide among teenagers was found to be even wider, with 27% of marketers saying that, as a group, teenage girls aged 13 to 19 are most attracted to novel packaging. Only 9% of respondents thought teenage boys were the most susceptible demographic.
"Women do seem more attracted to special editions. A lot of the new printing formats such as personalisation and the augmented reality just seems to appeal for some reason to women’s psyches," commented Alison Church, event director at easyFairs.
Church added, however, that women often appear more susceptible to creative packaging because they make more purchasing decisions than men. "Often it is the women who are making more of those purchasing decisions in the household," she said.
The survey also found that marketers feel that novelty packaging is less attractive to older consumers. Only 8% thought women aged 31 to 50 were the most susceptible, and only 4% thought men in this age range were most easily targeted.
"Again, this could be down not to the 20 to 30 age group’s innate susceptibility," said Church. "Rather it could be a reflection of the sort of lifestyle a person in their 20s is likely to lead.
"People in their 20s to 30s generally have more disposable income and therefore are more likely to make spontaneous decisions influenced by attractive or interesting packaging than perhaps other ages, where they might have families or, if younger, might be students," she said.
EasyFairs is the organiser of Packaging Innovations, the London version of which is being held at the Business Design Centre, London, 1-2 October.
