Consumers Frustrated By Difficult Removable Labels

A recent survey by Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials, North America, reveals that most shoppers have had challenges with the removable labels that provide price and/or product information that are found on a wide variety of retail products.

This difficulty can create negative association with the product and brand. Such frustrations may be avoided — and consumer satisfaction enhanced — through label converters helping brand owners choose label constructions that may be removed easily by the retail customer.

In February, global market and opinion research specialist Ipsos fielded questions on behalf of Avery Dennison in its daily eNation Omnibus to 1,000 adults across the United States. A total of 819* participants qualified to answer these questions. Among the findings:

81% of shoppers have experienced difficulty when removing a label.
72% had a hard time removing a label from a kitchen item.
53% said labels left a sticky residue on a product.
82% felt frustration when removing a label from a product.

Click here to view an infographic detailing the results of the survey.

Frustration Leads to Negative Consequences for Brands

Imagine buying and bringing home a new picture frame to display a photo from a family vacation, only to discover the label on the glass resists an easy peel-off. Clean adhesive label removal may ultimately involve soapy water and some scrubbing, the use of solvents or even scratching the label off with items like a coin or razor.

The survey respondents’ comments demonstrated this happens frequently and leads to frustration with the brand owner:

“Why would they put something so sticky on a simple product? They really need to come up with a new way to tag things.”

“I cannot understand what type of company continues putting these types of labels on items. Many other companies use better quality labels that don't leave residue... I won't buy from them again.”

“I experienced a lot of frustration removing a label from dishes I had purchased as a gift for someone. I thought it should just peel off easily, but it was almost as though the label had been melted onto the dishes.”

“It seems that many people have had a bad experience with a removable label,” Agata Kowalska, associate product manager, Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials, North America, said. “Some survey respondents talked about how the wrong label adhesive ruined a present, damaged a collectible, or just caused a lot of grief. It happened to me when I recently bought a pair of shoes. The adhesive left an ugly stain, so I had to exchange them for a different pair.”

A Portfolio of Optimized, Removable Label Constructions

The Avery Dennison Select Solutions Removables Portfolio can help label converters, and the brand owners they serve, avoid such negative consequences.

The portfolio includes a core of general-purpose, “go-to,” removable adhesives. Paired with film and paper facestocks, they are engineered to work across a variety of substrates and environmental conditions. It also includes a range of removable adhesives for specialized or unique applications, including those optimized for apparel, automotive, inventory management, and restaurant and food rotation.

Removables portfolio constructions are available in low MOQs, with short lead times, and through the Avery Dennison EXACT, Ready Width and stocked service programs. These service offerings help label converters operate more efficiently and reduce waste.

Kowalska continued, “Our goal is to help converters make the right choices for removable labels, and assist them in creating better consumer experiences for their customers. As the survey demonstrates, the label might seem a small part of the product, but it can have a significant impact on consumer experience.”

*The survey findings can be viewed as representing the opinions of all adults in the U.S. due to the statistically significant response rate.

Source: Avery Dennison.