Everyone knows that luxury packaging makes us feel like the product inside is of a higher value… but why is that? 

Today we will be looking at the thought processes behind packaging quality and how you can use the power of psychology to your brand’s advantage.

What Happens in Your Brain When You Open a Luxury Box?

Let’s start with the journey before your customer even opens your product. Whether you are an e-commerce business or a physical vendor, there will be some level of delay between your customer buying their item and opening the box, and this leaves the door open for a psychological phenomenon called the Anticipation Effect. 

The anticipation effect does exactly what it says on the tin: the longer you have to look forward to something, the more you will enjoy it. The main component of this is called ‘prospection’, which is when you picture yourself enjoying something in the future, which in turn gives you a sense of enjoyment now. For the online sellers among you, this effect will be even greater due to the longer length of time between purchase and opening the product.

The Psychology of First Impressions

It doesn’t matter if you are being introduced to a product or a person, you will naturally give more weight to the first things you notice and build the rest of your opinion around those initial ideas. 

This isn’t a negative thing, and was in fact theorised to be an evolutionary human trait to protect us from potential enemies. This is obviously no longer a worry for most people, but the habit remains and can be used to your advantage when choosing how to package your products. So now we know why people think the way they do, let’s move on to what materials are best to leverage those thought processes.

Why Weight, Texture and Materials Matter

The weight, texture and materials of your packaging all contribute towards the overall sense of quality and care that a customer feels your business puts into its products. ‘Poor quality packaging must be a poor quality product’ and ‘luxury packaging must mean a luxury product’ are both common trains of thought for customers, however subconsciously, so it’s important to keep in mind when picking your materials.

For example, our brain naturally equates a heavy box with containing substance and being sturdily made. This is because most people know that it is usually cheaper to produce lightweight and flimsy boxes over more sturdy packaging, so the same assumption will most likely then be passed onto the value of your product inside. We have known some companies to, in an attempt to combat this thought process, hide small weights in their packaging to trick the brain into thinking the box has more value to it than it actually does. 

In terms of materials and the textures you can use on your packaging, this is less about what the brain is hardwired to think and instead is about appealing to a person’s physical senses and making the most of a person’s associations between colours and quality. Metallic foiling has the visual association with precious metals and wealth, so it will help to elevate your brand from an aesthetic standpoint, whereas premium gloss or matte finishes will feel pleasant to touch and will make a customer want to keep your box in their hands.

Confusing “Expensive” With “Luxury” 

You might hear the words luxury packaging boxes and assume that means ‘expensive’. However, luxury can be far more to do with the feeling of an item than its actual monetary value, meaning you can achieve luxury-style packaging without a high price tag.

As mentioned in the section above about materials, there are a lot of inexpensive ways of using materials to your advantage, but one way we haven’t covered yet is personalisation for the customer. There is nothing considered to be more luxurious than feeling like something has been made especially for you, so any kind of customisation will immediately increase the perceived quality of the product in the box. This could be a handwritten note, including their name on branded stationery, or a free sample with their purchase based on something they expressed interest in, anything that makes them feel like you have noticed and listened to them. Paying attention to your customer is free and can add some of the highest value to your customers’ experience with you, because who doesn’t want to feel special!

Does Luxury Packaging Actually Influence What Customers Think a Product Is Worth?

If you have gotten this far into the article, I think you can work out the answer… Yes, it definitely makes a difference! There are many more psychological reasons why a high-quality box will help elevate your customers’ experience of your business, so why not take the simple step to a better brand perception today?

If you are ready to get started, click below, and a member of our expert packaging team will talk you through the next steps in creating a premium packaging experience and brand perception for your products.