How alcohol label design influences attention among young adults: evidence from an eye-tracking study

Aims: Exposure to alcohol marketing is associated with higher alcohol consumption. In recent years, a growing number of modern labels have appeared on alcohol bottles. Unlike traditional labels that typically convey factual details about a product, such as product type, quality, origin, and brewery creation date, modern labels are designed to create an imaginary, often quirky universe that is disconnected from the product itself. These new labels are used by alcohol manufacturers to increasingly appeal to the younger generation, acknowledged to exhibit heightened sensitivity to alcohol marketing. We sought to explore the influence of the design of modern alcohol labels on attention and choice among young adults. Methods: The data were collected from a within-subjects experiment using realistic stimuli, with participants exposed to two label design conditions (modern vs. traditional). The study combined an eye-tracking method with declarative measures. Results: The participants made more fixations and revisits and looked more quickly at the modern labels and for longer compared to traditional labels. In addition, beer bottles with modern labels were selected more often than those with traditional labels. Conclusion: As the study demonstrates the strong influence of alcohol labeling design on young consumers' attention and product choices, we believe that there is a need to introduce more stringent regulations on alcohol packaging and labeling, an aspect that has thus far received little attention from public authorities.