Transparent packaging made shoppers 4x more likely to choose a product
See-through packaging, or a cut-out window, made shoppers 4x more likely to choose a food product and 41% more interested in buying. Seeing the actual item builds a sense of ownership before purchase. It reverses when the product itself does not look good.
Quick Summary
Across 7 experiments on everyday food items, transparent packaging, or a cut-out window, made shoppers 4x more likely to choose the product, 40.6% more interested in buying it, and made them rate it 67.2% more attractive. Seeing the real item removes the barrier between shopper and product and creates a sense of ownership before purchase.
If you sell attractive physical products, let people see them: use transparent packaging or a window, and online, make sure your imagery shows the actual product clearly rather than hiding it behind styling. The one caution: this reverses if the product itself does not look appealing.
Key Finding
4x
How much more likely shoppers were to choose a food product in transparent rather than covered packaging.
Marckhgott, Kamleitner & Estes, 2026
Packaging is usually treated as branding. This research reframes part of it as conversion: simply letting shoppers see the product does a lot of the selling. Transparent packaging or a cut-out window made people 4x more likely to choose an item, 40.6% more interested in buying, and made the product feel 67.2% more attractive.
Why it works
We treat packaging as a barrier between us and the product. Covered packaging hides the item, transparent packaging removes the barrier so we see the real thing. Seeing it makes us feel a sense of ownership before we have even bought it, and that anticipated ownership pulls us toward the purchase. We also pay more attention to a product we can actually see.
What to do
- Show the product, in the packaging and online. If you control packaging and the product looks good, use transparent material or a window. On your Shopify store, the same principle means leading with clear, honest imagery of the actual item rather than hiding it behind heavy styling or props.
- Make the hero image the product itself, shown clearly, at true color and scale. This is the digital equivalent of a see-through pack.
- Use it where the product is the appeal: food, textured or colorful goods, anything that looks good in the hand.
Where it backfires
The effect reverses when the product is not visually appealing (a shapeless stew), where hiding it is better. It also disappeared when people were buying for someone else, and it was only tested on food items, so treat toiletries, tech, and other categories as untested. Do not expose an unphotogenic product just to follow the rule.
Showing the real item honestly is also the single best way to keep expectations accurate, which is how you cut returns. See reducing return rates through better product pages, and for food and drink specifically, fewer-ingredient framing pairs well with visible product.
Research: Marckhgott, E., Kamleitner, B. & Estes, Z. (2026). International Journal of Research in Marketing. Vienna University of Economics and Business and City, University of London. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2026.01.008
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