New research reveals that consumers expect brands to manage the authenticity of their products, with 68% of consumers globally more likely to choose a connected product that provides them with additional value during the purchase lifecycle. The Connected Experience Report shows that half (49%) of consumers would also be willing to pay a premium for it, with NFC technology enabling brands to deliver evidence of authenticity, meet regulatory requirements, and build long-term consumer trust.
The research, prepared by io.tt in collaboration with Pragmatic Semiconductor, Eurostampa, r-pac, Team Creatif and GS1 UK, found that 63% of consumers report a more positive perception of brands that adopt connected packaging to enhance transparency and engagement. It also highlights the importance of incorporating authenticity to stimulate the circular economy with 59% of consumers saying they would be more inclined to buy second-hand goods if digital product passports were implemented.
“The cost of losing consumer trust cannot be underestimated. NFC technology gives brands a frictionless digital touchpoint by incorporating secure digital identifiers directly into products, giving every item its own verifiable record of origin and interactive features,” said Ravi Shankar Sundaram, Senior Director of Product Management, at Pragmatic Semiconductor. “Manufactured sustainably and at low cost, our NFC Connect product family of flexible, ultra-thin chips – FlexICs – can be invisibly embedded into packaging or labels, enabling every product to tell its story and helping brands to build true competitive advantage while staying ahead of upcoming regulations."
Overall, the research strongly highlighted the increasing importance of an interactive experience in purchasing today:
- 41% scan or tap product QR/NFC several times a week or more;
- 30% would choose the connected option out of two comparable products;
- Discounts and promotions (32%), usage instructions (30%) and authentication (29%) are the top consumer drivers for interacting with connected packaging;
- UK consumers most value authentication (31%) and ingredient sourcing (27%), while US consumers were most interested in freshness data (28%) alongside ingredient sourcing (25%).
Data insights derived from intelligent packaging and labels can help brands drive competitive advantage by enabling an interactive brand experience pre- and post-purchase. In addition to deepening consumer engagement, NFC technology provides both the transparency and provenance tracking that are essential to compliance requirements including Digital Product Passports. The research found that the top business drivers for implementation are supply chain transparency (47%), authenticity, and analytics (both 44%), with the vast majority (92%) of brands either already embedding NFC into their products or planning to over the next twelve months, up from only 24% last year.
“NFC is unlocking the next generation of connected experiences,” said Cameron Worth, Founder and CEO of io.tt. “It feels instant, human and valuable - and with new chip formats and materials, it’s finally becoming scalable. We’ve been building towards this moment since our first NFC project in 2016.”