When it comes to connecting with the consumer in the produce aisle, every second counts. One glance can make — or break — a sale according to Jean-Pierre Lacroix, founder and president of strategic design agency SLD, and author of “Think Blink Manifesto.”
For more than 30 years, Lacroix has helped brands connect with shoppers through impactful design and storytelling. Here are his three tips for creating instant connections in your produce aisle.
“People were buying local because they made the equation that local meant fresh: It meant the product wasn’t traveling that far,” he says.
Lacroix calls this emotional connection with, for example, local produce, a mental shortcut. His first tip, then, is to label produce with its origin clearly and consistently. Make the local aspect stand out with colors, icons or maps.
“Most consumers probably have 30 products on their short list in their mind that they buy repetitively,” he says.
“[Grocers can overcome that list] through storytelling,” Lacroix continues. “When we were working with Calgary Co-op, we said, ‘You know, you didn’t tell a story. This product was grown on this farm in Alberta by this family of growers. You know, there’s a story of the family.’”
Next, highlight who grew the food, where it came from, and why it’s special. Shoppers buy more when they feel a personal connection.
“That’s nostalgia,” Lacroix says. “You’re linking moments of your life, of your past life when you were a child, or your parents when they were children. You’re linking those equities to that moment, and that’s a very emotional moment.”
And finally, Lacroix says seasonal recipes and family traditions can turn a casual browser into a buyer.
“Eighty percent of all buying decisions we make are emotional, and visuals drive them,” he says. “We absorb images 600,000 times faster than words. So all those signs that retailers put up, that means work for the brain; but if you had a visual there, maybe it’s a pie. See ingredients that connect instantly with the consumer.”
Design with emotion; tell the story, and make every blink count in your produce aisle.
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