The Value of Retail Ready and Shelf Ready Packaging

Seeing is believing: are brands and retailers being honest about the final moment of truth?

The introduction of retail ready packaging (RRP) and Shelf Ready Packaging (SRP) in the UK led to a wholesale rethink in the way brands and retailers displayed product on shelf. But while the past ten years have seen RRP become the standard in many areas, Tony Foster, Sales & Marketing Director for the UK Packaging division of DS Smith argues that for some brand owners, it may be time to reassess their RRP to ensure they fulfil its true potential.

The Value of Retail and Shelf Ready Packaging

“RRP was a complete game changer which involved a lot of rethinking in a short space of time. What has happened in that time is the focus has been on how it works for the operations and logistics areas of the supply chain, but there is less time spent on ensuring it is as good as it can possibly be on the shelf to attract the shopper.

“The question now is whether there should be increased focus on the very end of the process in order to maximise the full potential of retail ready packaging and shelf ready packaging. The hours of manufacture, distribution and transport come down to that one single moment of truth, when your product has to be the best on show in order to attract the customer. 

“Can it be said that everything is being done to ensure that critical point is being supported in the best possible way, with all the packaging and promotional tools available?

Shopper in Supermarket 920 x 613Innovation in Ely

“This is one of the reasons why we have developed the Impact Centre (IC) in Ely. There is no clearer way to demonstrate these issues than to put it in front of peoples’ eyes, where it is instantly obvious what difference RRP makes to the entire look and feel of the product.

“It’s at the Impact Centre that we’ve partnered with eyetracker to carry out some pioneering research, literally looking into branded RRP through the eyes of the shopper to better understand how shoppers react with supermarket fixtures.

“Test shoppers wear the eyetracker wireless HD glasses, which track and record exactly how their eyes move and where they look on supermarket shelves before making a purchase. Pilot tests have shown that shoppers found their first choice products from a shopping list more than ten per cent quicker when those products were displayed in RRP.

Future of Retail Ready and Shelf Ready Packaging

“We recognise that RRP is evolving and developing all the time. Over the next few years, it will be important to develop processes which allow the packaging industry to be more agile so that packs can be customised down to the level of specific stores. For example we could see more Wimbledon-specific packs for London SW1 in the months of June and July.

“But what is really crucial for the immediate future of RRP is understanding how important it is to focus on that moment when the consumer’s hand is hovering over the box, and they are making their choice. Without that, none of the effort to get the product to that point will have been worth it.”