سؤال قراءة ستيب محلول — فهم التفاصيل (تدريب 6261)

(1) Packaging involves designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product. Traditionally the primary function of the package was to hold and protect the product. In recent times, however, numerous factors have made packaging an important marketing tool as well. Increased competition and clutter on retail store shelves means that packages must now perform many sales tasks – from attracting attention, to describing the product, to making the sale. (2) Companies are realizing the power of good packaging to create immediate consumer recognition of brand. For example, an average supermarket stocks 45,000 items; the average Wal-Mart supercenter carries 142,000 items. The typical shopper passes by some 300 items per minute. And more than 70 percent of all purchase decisions are made in stores. In this highly competitive environment, the package may be the seller’s last and best chance to influence buyers. Thus, for many companies, the package itself has become an important promotional medium. (3) Poorly designed packages can cause headaches for consumers and lost sale for the company. Think about all those hard-to-open packages, such as DVD cases sealed with impossibly sticky labels. Packaging with finger-splitting wire twist-tie, or sealed plastic clamshell containers that take the equivalent of the fire department’s Jaws of Life to open. Such packaging causes what amazon.com calls “wrap rage” the frustration we feel when trying to free a product from a nearly impenetrable package. “Amazon.com recently launched a multi-year initiative to alleviate wrap rage. It’s working with companies such as Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft, and others to create “frustration-free packaging – smaller, easy to open recyclable packages that use less packaging material and no frustrating plastic clamshells or wire ties. These new packages not only reduce customer frustration, they also cut down on packaging waste and energy usage, “It will take many years” says the company. “But our vision is to offer our entire catalog of products in frustration-free packaging. (4) Innovative packaging can give a company an advantage over competitors and boost sales. Sometimes even seemingly small packaging improvements can make a big difference. For example. Heinz revolutionized the 170-year-old condiments industry by inverting the good old ketchup bottle, letting customers quickly squeeze out even the last bit of ketchup. At the same time. It adopted a fridge- door-fit shape that not only slots into shelves more easily but also have a cap that is simpler for children to open. In the four months following the introduction of the new package. Sales jumped 12 percent. What’s more? The new package does double duty as a promotional tool says a packaging analyst. “When consumers see the Heinz logo on the fridge door every time, they open it. It’s taking marketing inside homes.” (5) In recent years, product safety has also become a major packaging concern. We have all learned to deal with hard-to-open “childproof” packaging. And after the rash of product tampering scares during the 1980s. most drag producers and food makers now put their products in tamper-resistant packages. In making packaging decisions, the company also must heed growing environmental concerns. Fortunately, many companies have gone “green” by reducing their packaging and using environmentally responsible packaging materials. What was the main function of packaging traditionally?