Effect of Product Packaging on Consumer Buying Decision

Headnote

This study was conducted to determine which elements of product packaging are the most significant and how they impact consumer buying decisions. Due to increasing self-service and changing consumer lifestyles, the interest in packaging as a tool of sales promotion and stimulator of impulsive buying behavior is growing increasingly. So packaging performs an important role in marketing and encouraging or even sometimes discouraging the consumer from buying a product, especially, at the point of sale or at the time when a consumer is choosing from among different brands of a similar product type. This could be treated as one of the most important factor influencing a consumer's purchase decision. This study was conducted keeping in view the importance of product packaging and the great impact it can make on the purchase decision. After studying different aspects and components of packaging, it was found that the colour of the packaging is the most important and significant feature at 1%, followed by a picture or image of the packaging which is significant at 10%.

Keywords: packaging, elements of packaging, consumers purchase decision.

Introduction

This topic refers to the importance product packaging occupies in the consumers' minds and how it affects purchasing decisions. Reemphasizing the importance of perception, instead of allowing the customer to position products independently, marketers try to influence and shape consumers concepts and perceptions through packaging.

Packaging is often the last impression the consumer or customer will have of your product before that final purchase decision is made. Therefore, it is worth ensuring that packaging is working as hard as possible to secure that sale. This may be in the form of imagery, brand values, product functionality or pure innovation. There are many ways in which packaging can add value. Marketers should consider a few things in order to make packaging support their brand positioning, build competitive advantage, maintain innovation or increase their price premium. Packaging development can provide a number of business benefits including:

* Tangible representation of brand or company values

* Significant enhancement of product delivery, experience or enjoyment

* Increased impact at point of purchase

* New distribution channels or opportunities

Over 70 % of purchase decisions are made at the shelf. Since packaging of a product is the...