Marketers take note. UNSW researchers are developing a smartphone app that can neutralise the distracting influence of packaging and store layout so that only healthy products stand out.
Augmented reality (AR) is the science and art of using digital technology to provide a virtual overlay of the physical world, adding or subtracting information from it. A simple example could be a smartphone application that allows a consumer to view their living room painted in a different colour, or with a yet-to-be-purchased piece of furniture in place.
Mathew Chylinski, a senior lecturer in the school of marketing at UNSW Business School, along with professorial colleagues Ashish Sinha and Ko de Ruyter, has been researching how this technology can be used to change consumer behaviour – in particular to encourage more healthy eating choices.
“Marketers invest in packaging and the layout of the store because they understand how easily we are influenced by those,” says Chylinski.
“Augmented reality provides a unique opportunity for consumers to flip this dynamic. The consumer can change the way they experience the physical environment at the point of sale.”
Chylinski’s experiments show that consumers using AR are a lot more consistent with their goals. Test subjects, who viewed products via the screen of a mobile device in a simulated supermarket, made more healthy eating choices. The device removed colour from all but the healthier options.
“In essence, it reduced the influence of packaging and product position to aid consumer decision-making,” Chylinski says.
Read the full story at UNSW's Business Think.