Packaging and purchase decisions an exploratory study on the impact of involvement level and time pressure.docVIP

packaging and purchase decisionsan exploratory study on the impact of involvement level and time pressurepinya silayoi, mark speecetheauthorspinya silayoi, department of packaging technology, faculty of agro-industry, kasetsart university, bangkok, thailandmark speece, school of management, asian institute of technology and graduate school, bangkok university, bangkok, thailandabstractthe importance of packaging design as a vehicle for communication and branding is growing in competitive markets for packaged food products. this research utilized a focus group methodology to understand consumer behavior toward such products and how packaging elements can affect buying decisions. visual package elements play a major role, representing the product for many consumers, especially in low involvement, and when they are rushed. most focus group participants say they use label information, but they would like it if simplified. the challenge for researchers is to integrate packaging into an effective purchasing decision model, by understanding packaging elements as important marketing communications tools. propositions for future research are proposed which will help in developing better understanding of consumer response to packaging elements.article type: literature review, survey.keywords: food packaging, design, consumer behaviour.content indicators: research implications* practice implications* originality* readability*british food journalvolume 106 number 8 2004 pp. 607-628copyright mcb university press issn 0007-070xintroduction: packaging at the point of salepackaging seems to be one of the most important factors in purchase decisions made at the point of sale (prendergast and pitt, 1996), where it becomes an essential part of the selling process (rettie and brewer, 2000). packaged food products are moving into ever larger supermarkets and hypermarkets, and there is a proliferation of products, offering consumers vast choice. the competitive context is ever more intense, both in the retail store and household. with the move to self-service retail formats, packaging increases its key characteristic as the salesman on the shelf at the point of sale. the critical importance of packaging design is growing in such competitive market conditions, as package becomes a primary vehicle for communication and branding (rettie and brewer, 2000).this discussion examines how packaging influences buying decisions for packaged food products. the package standing out on the shelf affects the consumer decision process, and package design must insure that consumer response is favorable. the problem is made more complex by several conflicting trends in consumer decision-making. on one hand, some consumers are paying more attention to label information, as they become more concerned about health and nutrition (coulson, 2000; igd, 2003c). these consumers are more involved in the product decision and use package information more extensively. on the other hand, modern consumers are often looking for ways to reduce time spent on food shopping and preparation. this can influence decision processes, too, as time pressure reduces detailed consideration of package elements (igd, 2002b; warde, 1999).while these are important issues, and becoming even more critical in the intensifying competitive environment, there is little comprehensive study on how packaging elements influence brand choice under involvement and time pressure. this paper aims at forming a better understanding of the link between packaging and consumer purchase behavior. the main objective is to examine packaging elements that influence purchase decisions. from this, we propose a conceptual framework for how packaging relates to purchase decisions in the context of different product involvement levels and under time pressure.generally, qualitative methods are best suited to developing deeper understanding, so our discussion is based on focus groups interviews which examined these issues in-depth with typical consumers. the focus groups sessions had two broad objectives. they are:to examine the consumer experience with purchasing packaged food products; and to understand consumer views on how packaging plays a role in their purchase decisions. the focus groups were conducted in bangkok, thailand, and thus, the views represent consumers in an important middle-income country market where the agribusiness industry is quite strong, and conditions are very competitive.the packaged food products market in thailandthailand provides an excellent context for examining packaging of processed food products. understanding consumer response to packaging in asia is critical to food companies competing globally, and thailand is one of the leading markets for such trends. the packaged food industry in thailand is highly competitive, and the thai industry is a major player in the world market. thailand is the worlds fifth largest food exporter, with more than half of its exports going to its three major markets in japan, north america, and europe (the nation, 2003). packaged food products constitute to a large part of exports, and thus, domestic markets in the west are seeing an increasing presence of thai packaged food.in thailand, the rapid growth of modern retailing, where packaging plays a critical role in merchandising and communication, is an important driver of the dynamic competitive environment for fast moving consumer goods (fmcg) (the nation, 2002). expansion of modern retailing is common across asia, even in very low income countries (speece and luc, 2002), but is more advanced in thailand than in most parts of developing asia. according to ac nielson, thailand is the most dynamic retail market in the asian region except for china (rungfapaisarn, 2002). internationalization is a key ingredient. for example, britain is now the fifth largest investor in thailand, and major british fmcg companies and retailers have a strong presence (uk trade and investment, 2003). a report by igd (2003a) indicates that, after china, thailand is one of just three other key asian markets for international retailers.as many asian markets, thailand has seen an influx of foreign retailers. the whole range of modern retail stores common in the west are also becoming common in thailand. hypermarkets now lead growth, with foreign stores playing a major role in this category. tesco has become the largest single player, but there are also three other major chains, including the european carrefour and makro, and big c, which is domestic (phuangkanok, 2001; rungfapaisarn, 2002, 2001). supermarkets and convenience stores, the other major outlets for packaged food products, show a similar mix of western and domestic chains.these trends have fostered quite a lot of product and packaging innovation. in thailand, ready-to-eat and other convenience food products are among the most rapidly growing categories (the nation, 2002). packaging has become a critical marketing issue in the competitive domestic market and as thai products expand their international presence. industry experts believe that product innovation and packaging are the keys to enhance competitiveness of thai packaged food products (the nation, 2003). the director of the bureau of entrepreneur and enterprise development, which works with thai smes, believes that packaging is one of the three critical areas where smes need to develop more expertise, along with marketing and high quality raw materials (asawanipont, 2003).a key to maximizing package impact is understanding consumer response to packaging. many observers, e.g. ac nielsen, a leading international consumer research company, believe that consumers worldwide are likely to have roughly a similar response to many fmcg, despite cultural differences (the nation, 2002). understanding issues that concern consumers in one highly competitive market should provide a useful guide for others, even if details of execution might have to differ across countries. our own work has found many elements of behavior toward fmcg brands to be similar among middle class consumers across a number of asian markets (speece, 1998, 2002, 2003). in many respects, their behavior does not seem very different from how europeans may view brands (speece, 2000).for example, while there is a considerable brand loyalty toward fmcg in asia, many consumers are loyal to a small set of brands, rather than to a single one. roughly half the consumers have frequently not made specific brand choices before they enter the store, as several brands are all acceptable to them (speece, 1998, 2003). the package truly is critical for these shoppers, and it must communicate the advantages of the food product inside. consumers in thailand are becoming more careful shoppers, paying more attention to information about packaged food products (nfi, 2003; speece, 2003). this trend, of course, is worldwide. in the uk, for example, igd (2003c) found that 61 percent of people surveyed now look for product information on food labels, up from only 13 percent in 2000.convenience is also a key driver for food choice worldwide, and recent trends suggest that the demand for convenience is likely to continue increasing as young consumers take their habits with them into old age (igd, 2002a). according to igd (2002a), more impulsive and impatient consumers have driven the move toward more informal dining and a decline in the traditional fixed meal times. the trend is so strong in middle class thailand that even some popular restaurant chains have found it advantageous to move into packaged food distributed through modern retail stores, as their customers do not always have time for a restaurant meal (jitpleecheep, 2003).literature review: packaging functions and elementsprendergast and pitt (1996) review the basic functions of packaging, and define them by their role in either logistics or marketing. the logistical function of packaging is mainly to protect the product during movement through distribution channels. in the marketing function, packaging provides an attractive method to convey messages about product attributes to consumers at the point of sale. it may be difficult to separate these two package functions, as they are usually needed. the package sells the product by attracting attention and communicating, and also allows the product to be contained, apportioned, unitized, and protected.whatever be the logistics considerations, packaging is one key food product attribute perceived by consumers. it cannot escape performing the marketing function, even if a company does not explicitly recognize the marketing aspects of packaging. the package is a critical factor in the decision-making process because it communicates to consumers. intention to purchase depends on the degree to which consumers expect the product to satisfy them when they consume it (kupiec and revell, 2001). how they perceive it depends on communication elements, which become the key to success for many marketing strategies.the packages overall features can underline the uniqueness and originality of the product. in addition, quality judgments are largely influenced by product characteristics reflected by packaging. if it communicates high quality, consumers assume that the product is of high quality. if the package symbolizes low quality, consumers transfer this low quality perception to the product itself. the package communicates favorable or unfavorable implied meaning about the product. underwood et al. (2001) suggest that consumers are more likely to spontaneously imagine aspects of how a product looks, tastes, feels, smells, or sounds while they are viewing a product picture on the package.consumer decision-making can be defined as a mental orientation characterizing a consumers approach to making choice (lysonski et al., 1996). this approach deals with cognitive and affective orientations in the process of decision-making. four main packaging elements potentially affect consumer purchase decisions, which can be separated into two categories: visual and informational elements. the visual elements consist of graphics and size/shape of packaging, and relate more to the affective side of decision-making. informational elements relate to information provided and technologies used in the package, and are more likely to address the cognitive side of decisions.most fmcg are low involvement products. in low involvement, consumers do not search extensively for information about the brands, evaluate their characteristics, and make a weighty decision on which brand to buy (kotler et al., 1996, p. 225). one reason for this is low risk (chaudhuri, 2000; mitchell, 1999), i.e. these products are simply not very important. the lack of substantial evaluation often results in the inability to distinguish much difference among leading brands (mcwilliam, 1997). a common result is relatively weak habit brand loyalty. thus, when consumers find a brand which meets their standards, they tend to stay satisfied with it, especially, if they are constantly reminded of the brand. but they are not very committed, and substitute easily when it is not available.such habit loyalty is fairly common in the west, e.g. igd (2002a) notes that about one-third of women shoppers, and slightly fewer men, buy food products through habit. it is also quite common in thailand and more broadly in asia (speece, 1998, 2003). survey data from thailand indicate that packaging plays a strong role in reminding consumers about the brand (silayoi et al., 2003), i.e. it helps to reinforce habit loyalty.some observers, though, note that not all consumers view grocery shopping as a low involvement activity. beharrell and denison (1995) show a range of involvement among european consumers. those with higher involvement tend to be more strongly brand loyal, including willingness to postpone purchase or go to another store if the brand is not available. in thailand, about 20-40 percent of consumers for most fmcg show this level of loyalty, and will postpone or search rather than simply switch to a substitute (speece, 1998, 2003).clearly, consumer use of packaging elements is quite an important issue for low involvement products - generally, informational elements require more mental effort to process than do visual elements, which evoke more of an emotional response. some consumers are not willing to put forth this small effort, and food products which is of truly low involvement for them. others may consider the product more carefully, so that involvement level might shift the package elements which are most critical. we look at these various elements in more detail in the remainder of this section, to examine how consumers are likely to use each one.visual elementsgraphics and colorgraphics includes layout, color combinations, typography, and product photography, all of which create an image. for low involvement, there is a strong impact from marketing communications, including image building, on consumer decision-making. evaluation of attributes is of less importance in low involvement decisions, so graphics and color become critical (grossman and wisenblit, 1999). for many consumers in low involvement, the package is the product, particularly because impressions formed during initial contact can have lasting impact. as the product attribute which most directly communicates to the target consumer (nancarrow et al., 1998), the design characteristics of the package need to stand out in a display of many other offerings.many consumers today shop under higher levels of perceived time pressure, and tend to purchase fewer products than intended (herrington and capella, 1995). products often appear to be chosen without prior planning, representing a form of impulse buying (hausman, 2000). a package that attracts consumers at the point of sale will help them make decisions quickly in-store. as the customers eye tracks across a display of packages, different new packages can be noticed against the competitors. however, eye movement does not necessarily mean attention. when scanning packages in the supermarket, the differential perception and the positioning of the graphics elements on a package may make the difference between identifying and missing an item (herrington and capella, 1995).in psychology research, brain laterality results in an asymmetry in the perception of elements in package designs (rettie and brewer, 2000). the recall of package elements is likely to be influenced by their lateral position on the package, as well as by factors such as font style, size, and color. recall is better for verbal stimuli when the copy is on the right hand side of the package, and better for non-verbal stimuli when it is on the left hand side. this may imply that, in order to maximize consumer recall, pictorial elements, such as product photography, should be positioned on the left hand side of the package.consumers also learn color associations, which lead them to prefer certain colors for various product categories (grossman and wisenblit, 1999). using color as a cue on packaging can be a potentially strong association, especially when it is unique to a particular brand. however, people in different cultures are exposed to different color associations and develop color preferences based on their own cultures associations. simply taking the colors of a particular logo, package, or product design from one market to another should only be done under a thorough understanding of how colors and color combinations are perceived in each location (madden et al., 2000).packaging size and shapepackage size, shape, and elongation also affects consumer judgment and decisions, but not always in easily uncovered ways. consumers appear to use these things as simplifying visual heuristics to make