Andy Pham of Glen Allen Demonstrates Consumer Eye-Tracking in Las Vegas with Clemson University team

2011 Oct 13

Andy Pham of Glen Allen, a graduate student in packaging science at Clemson University, demonstrated the latest in consumer eye-tracking technology at the 2011 PACK EXPO trade show in Las Vegas.

Pham was among a group of students participating in the Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics' exhibit, "The Consumer Retail Experience by Clemson University."

They greeted visitors to the exhibit and invited them to participate in a research experience as high-tech shoppers. The participants put on digital eye-tracking glasses that recorded their eye movements at 30 movements per second and showed on a computer where they looked and what attracted their attention.

The experiment took place in a simulation of a small mini-mart: the 1,000-square-foot CUshop designed and built at the Sonoco Institute, disassembled and shipped to Las Vegas. When reassembled, the CUshop was complete with shopping aisles, shelves of boxes and items commonly found in a grocery store.

When participants finished shopping they received a computer printout of a "heat map" showing what they looked at.

"Eye-tracking is the science behind the design of retail packaging," said Chip Tonkin, director of the Sonoco Institute. "The research we are doing here is groundbreaking because it takes place in real time in a real shopping environment. Most eye-tracking research is done in a virtual world looking at a large screen."

Assistant professor R. Andrew Hurley advises the graduate students who managed the Consumer Retail Experience at PACK EXPO and is a leader in the area of packaging design and consumer experience.

Hurley notes that the research being conducted at the exposition "unveils consumer decision-making and investigation at the subconscious level." Hurley and his team are specifically searching for trends in packaging design elements that "impact the perceived quality of products."

Officials from PMMI, the owner and producer of the PACK EXPO trade shows (PACK EXPO International in Chicago, PACK EXPO Las Vegas and EXPO PACK Mexico), toured the Sonoco Institute and became interested in the eyetracking research at the CUshop consumer research lab. PMMI sponsored the students to attend PACK EXPO and donated the exhibit space. The 2011 edition of PACK EXPO Las Vegas was the largest to date with more than 25,000 visitors, including 1,600 exhibitors, and approximately 630,000 net square feet of exhibit space.

Ranked No. 25 among national public universities, Clemson University is a major, land-grant, science- and engineering-oriented research university that maintains a strong commitment to teaching and student success. Clemson is an inclusive, student-centered community characterized by high academic standards, a culture of collaboration, school spirit, and a competitive drive to excel.