NEW research has revealed that connected packaging popularity is expected to ‘surge’ this year.
Creative tech studio Appetite Creative has released results from its second annual connected packaging survey. Connected packaging has experienced a rise in popularity in the last 12 months, with 81% of respondents stating they have used connected packaging, compared to 54% in last year’s survey.
The biggest barrier for almost half of respondents is lack of business capabilities and preparedness (48%), price (20%) and complexity (11%).
Almost half (48%) consider connected packaging important to help educate customers. Other valuable factors this year included direct customer interaction (45%) and using connected packaging to inform product updates or marketing decisions (42%). Only 29% of respondents consider data collection requirements important.
Increased investment in digital marketing spend is planned by 88% of those surveyed this year. Businesses plan to increase spend on connected packaging campaigns by between $31,000 to $50,000, claimed 42% of respondents – more than double seen last year.
88% of respondents said they are planning a connected packaging campaign this year, while 92% consider connected packaging to be increasingly important to the packaging industry in the next 12 months and beyond.
New survey questions this year looked at gamification in marketing campaigns, with 70% claiming to use or consider using it. 57% adopted traditional mobile games, 31% used augmented reality games and 11% shared a quiz through a connected packaging experience.
“Despite the cost-of-living crisis and global economic uncertainty, investment in connected packaging experiences continues to rise,” said Jenny Stanley, MD at Appetite Creative. “No longer only a data collection tool, connected packaging is now a long-term customer relations and educational media channel, which helps companies navigate ever-changing sustainability requirements and inform product development and marketing decisions.
“Moving from a tipping point into mainstream usage this year, the perceived value of connected packaging has shifted to a business ‘must-have’.”
