In Front of the Supermarket Shelves no More Than 20 Seconds

This is the maximum time the average consumer takes before deciding whether to buy a product, even when it comes to fruit and vegetables

FERRARA, Italy, Nov. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The average time a consumer spends in front of the shelves is surprisingly short: between 4 and 20 seconds. This was revealed by Professor Vincenzo Russo, an expert in neuromarketing and consumer psychology at the IULM University in Milan, during the event Fruit and Vegetables and Neuromarketing: Understanding Consumers in a Changing World organised by CSO Italy sponsor of The European Art of Taste project together with the European Union.

The data highlights how quick and instinctive purchase decisions are, driven mainly by emotion rather than rationality. Our brain, when called upon to make choices quickly, tends to ‘trick’ us and create a kind of bias in our perceptions. The packaging, its color or shape, the appearance of the product and many other factors can influence our perception in a way that is sometimes different from reality.

‘The consumer does not choose rationally - it is emotion that is the main lever in purchasing decisions, decisions that take place in a fraction of milliseconds,’ Professor Russo explained.

If, as a result, the decision to buy or not to buy a product is made in such a short space of time, the risk is that the choice of fruit and vegetable product itself is based solely on price or habit. A very serious risk that would detract from the intrinsic value of the product.

The importance of emotional involvement also emerges from the correlation between memory and emotion. Russo emphasized how the amygdala, which is responsible for managing emotions, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for the formation of long-term memories, work together to create memorable shopping experiences. ‘It is this overlap between emotion and memory that has crucial implications for influencing our ability to remember a product, a brand, and, therefore, to choose it again in the future,’ the lecturer concluded.

Therefore, it is necessary to consider these issues very well when presenting fruit and vegetables on foreign shelves, especially overseas, because that will be the window display that will most often determine whether a consumer will buy fruit and vegetables. A purchase where the role of speed of communication with which the consumer choices makes it crucial that the product is able to communicate its values effectively.

‘It is therefore crucial that the high-quality standards that characterize fruit and vegetables produced in Europe are properly communicated especially for exported products,’ says Luca Mari, Head of European Union projects at CSO Italy. ‘Asian consumers also choose and do it quickly. Thus, our products to be effective will have to evolve and learn how to communicate the increasing European protection that characterizes them’. It is within this framework that the information communication campaign ‘The European Art of Taste’ aims to showcase the finest examples of fresh and processed European fruits and vegetables within China, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.

News about The European Art of Taste and CSO Italy

The project The European Art of Taste – Fruit & Veg Masterpieces aims to promote and inform about high-quality European fruits and vegetables and is financed by CSO Italy and the European Union. The following Italian companies also participate in the project: RK Growers, Mazzoni Group, Apofruit, Origine Group e Oranfrizer.

CSO Italy, founded in 1998, is a unique entity in Italy that associates many of Italy's leading companies in the production and marketing of domestic fruit and vegetables. Completing the range of members are important companies specializing in different areas of the fruit and vegetable supply chain, from packaging, logistics, processing, machinery, and distribution. CSO Italy's mission is to provide useful services to members to improve and make the Italian fruit and vegetable industry more efficient and competitive. A technical table at the service of the entire Italian fruit and vegetable supply chain to increase its competitiveness through synergy among operators. CSO ITALY, has 73 members, distributed as follows: 51 producer members, 14 supply chain members, 3 subsidizing members and 5 supporting bodies.

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Funded by the European Union. However, the views expressed are those of the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the awarding administration can be held responsible for them.

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