NEW YORK (PNN) - July 12, 2012 - Consumer-products companies are turning to new technology to overcome the biggest obstacle to learning what shoppers really think: what the shoppers say.
To find out what really draws their test shoppers' attention, companies like Procter & Gamble Co. and Kimberly Clark Corp. are combining three-dimensional computer simulations of product designs and store layouts with eye-tracking technology; and that, in turn, is helping them roll out new products faster and come up with designs and shelf layouts that boost sales.
Kimberly-Clark's researchers used computer screens outfitted with retina-tracking cameras when testing the newest packaging for its Viva paper towels in 2009. The goal was to find which designs got noticed in the first 10 seconds a shopper looked at a shelf - a crucial window when products are recognized and placed in the shopping cart.
Falling costs are helping to make the use of such technology more commonplace. A retina-tracking camera embedded in the rim of a computer screen and attached to special glasses typically costs $25,000 to $40,000. The information it collects can be used to form a "heat map" that uses color to show where people looked on a simulated shelf.
With a virtual shelf set, in a few seconds and a click of the mouse, you can modify your product, your pack, your display, and really co-create it with the consumer almost in real time.
