The Psychology of Product Packaging

Consumer purchasing behavior can be defined as a series of activities in which people search, evaluate, select, buy, use and dispose of products and services to meet their needs and desires. 

In a store, packaging is the gateway to the product. Consumers see the packaging and respond to how it makes them feel. If consumers feel that the product can potentially meet their needs, it will influence their purchasing behavior.

This feeling is the result of choices made at several cognitive stages, so most consumers sometimes find it complicated and overwhelming. Since consumers are often in a confused state, the most important role of packaging is to allay their fears. This paper analyzes a typical consumer buying behavior in detail to highlight the role of packaging in the whole process.

Packaging as a stimulus

In accordance with Ian Pavlov's classical theory of conditioning, we can think of the consumer as a subject stimulated by a product packaged on a shelf. In this case, the stimulus is highly cultivated to influence the subject's response and to achieve the desired consumption behavior.

Decision Making Along Path To Purchase

According to classical conditioning theory, product packaging directly affects consumers' perception of the product. And the impact of product value perception will inevitably affect consumers' purchasing decisions.

Perceived value can be thought of as "a comprehensive assessment of the utility of a product based on the perception of what it gets (quality) and what it gives (price)".

Consumers need to go through several cognitive and emotional psychological stages before making a purchase decision. When consumers themselves are aware of a need or stimulation, they will start to look around actively and consume information through various channels. Based on what is presented to them at these stages, they develop an attitude towards certain choices for starting to trust. After making a choice, consumers decide to buy, and they continue to evaluate their decision while enjoying the product experience.

Build perception on the road

To ease the burden of making a purchase decision, consumers seek advice from their reference groups -- family, friends, colleagues, comments on online forums and a few other avenues. Each input is a signal that affects their attitude and perception of the product. But filtering information to find the right signal is hard, and retaining it is even harder. There is evidence that consumers retain only information that appeals to them emotionally, or that reinforces their beliefs.

When consumers are exposed to conflicting signals, they get confused and tend to exhibit impulsive buying behavior. In this case, they rely on product packaging to provide visceral cues that allow them to skip several decision stages.

Based on Toben Hansen's conceptual framework, the relationship between the various aspects that influence consumer perception is explored as they develop at different stages -- if consumers perceive a product to be of high value, they derive satisfaction from actively participating in the decision-making process.