Product packaging; an assessment of its influence on consumer buying behaviour and consumer perception

Abstract

Having an in-depth knowledge of consumers’ buying behaviour and their perception in relation to each packaging element has become critical to the success of a product in today’s business environment which is highly competitive and rapidly evolving. Consumers are becoming more intentional and discerning, therefore marketers are saddled with the responsibility of gaining insights on the buying behaviour of consumers and the perception each packaging element generates in the mind of the consumer before making a buying decision. The general objective of the study was to determine the influence of packaging elements on consumers’ buying behaviour and perception in Nigeria. The specific objectives were to find out whether pack colour, size, shape, material and label design had an impact on consumers’ behaviour and perception in Nigeria. Also, to determine which packaging element influences consumers’ buying decisions more in Nigeria. The study was aided by Kano’s theory of attractive quality and the Theory of reasoned action. The study employed a descriptive and explanatory research design. A sample of 320 consumers in Lagos, Nigeria was selected using simple random sampling while data was acquired using a structured questionnaire. The selection was done based on judgmental sampling. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in form of frequency, percentages, and cross tabulation analysis. Also, inferential statistics in the form of one-sample hypothesis test. The data was presented in tables. The study found a statistically significant relationship between pack colour, size, shape, material, label design and consumer buying behaviour and perception. More importantly, the study also revealed that among all the elements, the pack material is the most important element of packaging consumers put into consideration when making a buying decision. The study concluded that the packaging elements aforementioned play a major role in making a product appealing to customers which in turn influences their buying behaviour. The study recommends that companies offering consumer goods are aware of the demographics of the people who buy their goods. This will aid in the development of new products (NPDs) that appeal to the appropriate target market. This can be achieved by making extensive research precede every innovation project, and then integrate the input into developing the best packaging outlook. This helps to judiciously use the marketing spend to maximize profit This research will help new and existing consumer goods producers build strategies and packaging for their products. Students and academics can profit from this study by using it as a starting point for research on consumer behaviour and packaging. They can also design studies to look deeper into each packaging element and its impact on consumer behaviour, explain the impact of packaging attributes on specific product categories or conduct a comparative study to see if different packaging attributes have different effects on different types of products.