Latest research on how packaging functionality influences consumers’ purchase decisions published in the “European Journal of Marketing”

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We are happy to announce that our paper “How consumption-supportive packaging functionality influences consumers’ purchase intentions: the mediating role of perceived product meaningfulness” has been accepted for publication in the “European Journal of Marketing (EJM)“. The EJM offers unparalleled insights on new research, current practice and future trends so that practitioners and academics can gain a useful overview of marketing activity and apply that knowledge to develop appropriate strategies (Impact Factor: 2.611 in 2019).

In this research, the authors Christian Baccarella, Lukas Maier, and Kai-Ingo Voigt studied how consumption-supportive packaging functionality influences consumers’ purchase intentions. Consumption-supportive packaging functionality implies that the packaging itself serves a function that actively helps users achieve their consumption goals and that supports the objectives consumers have in mind when using it. Across four experimental studies, findings show that consumption-supportive packaging functionality leads to higher purchase intentions. The findings also reveal that perceived product meaningfulness is one underlying mechanism that helps us to explain the positive effect of consumption-supportive packaging functionality on purchase intention. Moreover, findings reveal that the positive effect of consumption-supportive packaging functionality only works for low-complex products, but not for high-complex ones.

In sum, our research offers a new perspective on package design, and thus advances the understanding of how to package functionality can influence consumer responses. In that way, our research provides important insights for marketing managers.

You can access the paper here.