Without words: the effects of packaging imagery on consumer perception and response

Scientific interest in understanding how packaging imagery influences consumer perception and response has increased in the last decade. Research show that the attributes of what is depicted on imagery anchor consumers’ judgements, affecting how the product within is evaluated and perceived, and that consumers interpret the symbolic attributes of imagery according to their grounded bodily experience with the physical world. In addition, recent advances show that the meaning inferred from ambiguous images can be modulated by manipulating some of the images’ features, and that imagery can play a relevant role in terms of modulating consumption and promoting health choices. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.