What makes a beer stand out from the hundreds of others on the shelf? A new study from Quad’s Accelerated Marketing Insights group suggests that packaging plays a critical role in guiding consumer choices in the craft beer category.
The research, conducted at Ray’s Wine & Spirits in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, used eye-tracking glasses to monitor 61 participants as they browsed two full beer walls. In total, the shoppers encountered 474 different craft beer options. After the shopping session, each participant completed a survey to discuss their purchase decisions.
The study aimed to determine which visual and packaging characteristics attracted attention and influenced purchases. Researchers measured visual engagement through three key eye-tracking metrics: total fixation duration, time to first fixation, and fixation count. These metrics revealed not just what shoppers looked at, but how quickly and how often.
According to the findings, 84% of shoppers arrived without a specific beer in mind, reinforcing that visual cues play a large role in decision-making. Packaging design ranked just behind flavor and price as the most important purchase driver. Nearly three-quarters of participants,72 percent, said that the way a beer looked made them more likely to buy it.
Among the standout design trends, illustrations proved to be one of the most consistent attention-getters. The beer that received the longest fixation time was Gus Polinski and the Kenosha Kickers by 903 Brewers, which featured a cartoon of actor John Candy’s face on the label. Researchers noted that human faces tend to capture visual attention faster than abstract or text-heavy designs.
Another trend was the use of descriptive and thematic naming. Products like Hot Dog Lager by Explorium Brewing and Maple Coffee Porter by Lion’s Tail Brewing appealed to participants by directly referencing flavors or creating a strong sensory association. This approach helped consumers more easily connect with what they were purchasing, the study found.
Label type also played a role. Pressure-sensitive labels, which adhere without heat or water, were consistently among the best-performing products. These labels were used by six of the 13 top-selling beers in the study, and 80% of the top five most visually engaging brands featured them. While the study did not find that pressure-sensitive labels impacted consumer perceptions of quality, their adaptability and cost-efficiency may explain their popularity among brewers.
Shannon Anderson, Director of Client Research at Quad, said the findings have implications for brands looking to optimize packaging in a competitive and crowded market.
“This type of visual data can serve as a leading indicator of purchase intent,” Anderson said. “When 84% of shoppers are coming into the store without a plan, brands that can break through visually have an opportunity to win in that final moment of decision-making.”
The study was conducted in fall 2024 through Quad’s Accelerated Marketing Insights division and is part of the company’s broader marketing experience suite of media, creative, production and data offerings. The Tobii 3 eye-tracking glasses used in the research recorded movements at a rate of 50 times per second, offering researchers a detailed view of how shoppers interact with physical packaging in real time.
With craft brewers facing rising costs, slower category growth, and general economic uncertainty, standing out on the shelf may be more important than ever. Quad’s findings suggest that even small changes to visual design could have a measurable impact.
