I came across the following website while conducting research;
http://www.byrdie.co.uk/prettiest-beauty-product-packaging/slide19
The title alone - 15 Beauty Products for the Aesthetically Obsessed - already implies that there are people who would buy products just for the sake of having something pretty to look at, or because 'it matches their style'.
The opening lines to the article are as follows:
"Aesthetics are very important to me—I want my beauty products to look as good on my bathroom shelf as they do applied to my face. Either subconsciously or with an artfully arranged Instagram snap in mind—it’s usually the latter—I find myself purchasing products that best match my style."
This made me think; due to my job I am already fairly certain that aesthetics do influence the client's purchasing decisions since I have seen it happen on countless occasions. But to go to the extent of buying a product simply because 'it looks nice' is a bit over the top in my opinion. Is the design of a package that influential? What sort of connection is created between the user and the product? Would you be willing to purchase a product which you know you can buy for a lower price, but opt for the higher priced option because of what it looks like? It would take a lot more than that for me to do so. Primarily, it would have to be literally 'love at first sight' in terms of the package's colour, the shape, and the style. Secondly, it would have to be something which I don't currently own, and would have to know that the product actually works, more so if I would be potentially spending a hefty sum of money. Apparently, I am one of the few who analyze purchases in this way. To each his own!
The literature review I carried out a couple of weeks ago has already answered a couple of the questions I mentioned in the previous paragraph. There could be a number of influential factors, such as the choice of colour, what the form and the materials of the product represent in terms of social class, etc. Unfortunately there is no correct answer as even though studies have been carried out, each individual person has a different understanding as to what is aesthetically pleasing. As we say in Maltese, 'għalhekk il-baqra tinbiegħ kollha!'
