The Influence of Product Packaging on Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example

Literature Review: The influence of product packaging on consumer behaviour Introduction Many business people have the false belief that the product will move better in the market if the quality of the product is good. But quality is only one aspect of many others which determines the success of a product in the market. Attractive packaging is essential for canvassing or influencing the consumers. A good product with bad packaging may fail in the market whereas a bad product with attractive packaging may excel in the market. This paper analyses the product packaging and its influence on consumer buying habits. Product Packaging The article, Factors in Packaging Decisions, on knowthis.com website defined packaging as a process of protecting the product, increasing the visibility of a product, adding value to a product, getting distributor acceptance etc. A product packed poorly with less visibility cannot survive in the market whereas good packaging will added value to the product and increase its distributor acceptance and cost (Factors in Packaging Decisions, 2010). The article, The Importance of Packaging written by David Kam, defined packaging as an important marketing strategy to glamorize a product in order to attract the consumer’s attention. He also mentioned many secrets of product packaging. He argued that attractive packaging of product can glamorize a product in order to attract the consumer’s attention. He also pointed out that most consumers judge a product by its packaging before buying. In his opinion, nobody will buy even good products in the absence of good packaging (Kam, 2010). Both the articles agreed in terms of the importance of packaging in product marketing. Both of them agreed that poor visibility may affect the product movement in the market. Consumer Behaviour The science news article, How Does Context Affect Consumer Judgment published yesterday (March 22, 2010), defined consumer behaviour in terms of the context. It mentioned that what we think of a product or brand, or how positively or negatively we assess it, depends on the context in which it is viewed. The article argues that many irrelevant contextual factors from the weather to another product brand can influence consumers evaluations of a product. When consumers shop in a mall, impressions of one store can be influenced by perceptions of the surrounding stores. Thus, when marketers decide to advertise their products in particular contexts, they would benefit from considering how it measures up in terms of its context (Science News, 2010) The article, Cheers to the American Consumer, written by John Quelch on April, 6, 2009 defined consumer behaviour in terms of wealth, independence, mobility, technology, recognition, etc. Many of the Americans live for today and they are not much bothered about tomorrow. This attitude influences their purchasing behaviour also. The thirst for something new is more evident among American consumers compared to others (Quelch, 2009). The influence of product packaging on consumer behaviour “Content without creativity is just plain boring, but creativity in the absence of content is simply noise” (Maundrill, 2010). As mentioned earlier, even good product packed in poor containers can spoil the reputation of the product. Quality and creativity should keep hand in hand for making the product successful in the market. “Consumers rely on signals, both extrinsic and intrinsic attributes, to solve their asymmetric information problem regarding product quality” (Pires Gonçalves, 2008). The packaging catches the attention of the consumer before the actual product. Packaging decided whether the consumer may approach it or not. In many cases, the consumers attracted by the packaging of a particular product and approach it even if they don’t need it really. Thus attractive packaging guides the consumer towards the product. Visibility of the product guides the consumers towards the product. Eye catching labels, and specially designed containers will make the product more attractive and acceptable among the consumers. For example, consider a consumer visiting a mobile phone shop with an intention to purchase a Nokia mobile. But it is quiet possible that he might have caught the attention of attractive packaging of Samsung or Motorola. In such cases, he may open the box and will test the product and probably he may reconsider his decision to purchase Nokia product and will go for the Samsung or Motorola. In this case the attractive packaging helped the manufacturer to sell his product. Attractive packaging of a product can glamorize it and most consumers judge a product by its packaging before buying. Good packaging gives enough protection to the product and the consumers will value good packaging as the product manufacturer’s readiness in caring and handling of the product. For example, Sony is a reputed brand in television selling. Suppose Sony removed all the supporting packing materials like thermo coal, polythene covers etc while distributing their products and as a result scratches occurred in their television sets. A consumer who approached a Sony dealer for purchasing a television set may reconsider his decision after watching the product in pathetic conditions even if the internal parts of the product were safe. Different contexts can also affect the consumer behaviours. Nokia was a reputed brand in India. Recently, some of the Nokia phone batteries started to explode in India and Nokia forced to replace all the batteries in a particular series. Consumers at that time were reluctant in choosing Nokia brand for their cellphone requirement. Thus context can affect the consumer behaviour very much. Wealth, independence, mobility, technology, recognition etc are other major factors which affect the consumer behaviour. Americans are immensely rich and have enough freedom in their social life. Moreover, they are considered as the technology savvy consumers who values recognition from others. Americans don’t bother much about the future and they spend more than what they earn. They can be easily attracted by the attractive packaging of a product even if they had no previous intention to purchase a product. In cricket, people often say catches win matches. Same way in business packing wins consumers. Conclusions Attractive packing is essential for the better movement of a product in the market. Even reputed branded products may fail in the market, if the manufacturers fail to pack it in an attractive and reliable manner. On the other hand, even poor products may excel in market because of attractive packaging. References 1. Factors in Packaging Decisions, (2010), Retrieved on 23 march 2010 from http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/product-decisions/factors-in-packaging-decision/ 2. Kam David (2010), The Importance of Packaging, Retrieved on 23 march 2010 from http://marketingdeviant.com/the-importance-of-packaging/ 3. Maundrill Mathew (2010), Does product packaging significantly influence consumer buying behavior?, Retrieved on 23 march 2010 from http://www.helium.com/items/817996-does-product-packaging-significantly-influence-consumer-buying-behavior 4. Pires Gonçalves, Ricardo (2008), Consumer Behavior: Product Characteristics and Quality Perception, Retrieved on 23 march 2010 from http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/11142/ 5. Quelch John (2009), Cheers to the American Consumer Retrieved on 23 march 2010 from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6154.html 6. Science News, (March, 22, 2010), How Does Context Affect Consumer Judgment, Retrieved on 23 march 2010 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322171020.htm Read More