Andy Pham of Glen Allen Demonstrates Clemson University Consumer-Tracking Technology at International Trade Show

2012 Dec 4

Andy Pham of Glen Allen traveled to a major Chicago trade show to demonstrate Clemson University's latest technology to track consumer behavior.

Pham, a graduate student in Packaging Science, and 10 other students and five faculty members went to PACK EXPO International in Chicago Oct. 28-31 to show the interactive exhibit "The Packaging Test Track," which aims to answer questions about how shoppers decide what to buy and how much packaging plays a part.

"This research will help to improve the speed, efficiency and sustainability of product development and packaging design," said Chip Tonkin, director of Clemson's Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics. "New products often fail and at great cost. The research methods we are using here can help to identify what consumers respond to and what doesn't work. So much waste can be avoided."

The Packaging Test Track consisted of five separate store environments in a 5,800-square-foot booth. Sponsored by ESKO and the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, the booth includes the Sonoco Institute's own CU Shop, as well as CU Office, CU Café, CU Auto and CU Mart. Each store was the basis thesis research by Pham and the other students.

A visual of the Packaging Test Track featuring the five different stores can be seen in a video filmed at the show found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP_vQR7SiYs.

Volunteers participated in a variety of consumer-behavior studies with varying technologies. Tobii Technologies provided both eye-tracking monitors as well as sets of mobile eye-tracking glasses to use in studies. The students also experimented with electroencephalography (EEG), which measures electrical activity in the scalp caused by brain activity, and galvanic skin response, which measures skin conductance, temperature and acceleration to correlate with physiological and psychological responses.

Rupert Andrew Hurley, an assistant professor of packaging science and adviser to the graduate students, said, "Their research reveals consumer decision-making at the subconscious level. The analysis of their data will help to identify trends in packaging design, as well as design elements that impact the perceived quality of products."

Clemson undergraduate students also participated in PACK EXPO at the Education Pavilion in the Clemson University Packaging Science booth. The students spent time browsing the miles of show space and networking with companies in attendance.

"We've often said PACK EXPO is as much a huge learning lab as it is a marketplace, and Clemson's research shines new light on that facet of the show," said Charles D. Yuska, president and CEO of PMMI, owner and producer of the PACK EXPO shows.

PACK EXPO International 2012 was held at the McCormick Place in Chicago, the largest conference center in North America. The conference recorded more than 1,800 exhibitors, a record number of registered attendees and more than 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space.