Influence of Packaging on Consumer Choice of Beauty Products.
ABSTRACT
The struggle for supremacy in brand positioning using packaging has introduced various approaches to designing a package for a product.
The assumption that packaging conveys only a physical appearance of a product seems to be overtaken by recent marketing assessment, hence, marketers have employed new strategies to out-do their competitors in designing a package for a product.
This informed this study on the influence of packaging on consumer choice of beauty products with a focus on Marykay, Sleek and Black Opal cosmetic products.
The survey research design was adopted and questionnaire was used to elicit responses from 385 consumers of cosmetic products drawn from Universities, Polytechnics, secondary schools and civil servants in Enugu State using convenient sampling technique.
The finding reveals that the functional value of a cosmetic product is a determining factor for consumer’s choice while the various patterns of packaging have varying degree of influence on consumer patronage of beauty products.
Based on this, the study recommended that audience research should guide the designing of package for a cosmetic product and that packaging should convey the true quality of a product.
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Packaging is the process of conceptualizing, planning, and designing a packet or wrapper to contain, protect and merchandise a product (Kotler 2003). In modern time marketing, if packaging does not sell a product, it is as good as worthless.
Highlighting the role of packaging in marketing or communicating a distinguished advertising practitioner, Chris Doghudje, observed that “packaging sells even more than advertising” (Nwokoye, 1987). That is because most goods like cosmetics and others have little or no advertising support. But they must be packaged.
The vital function of packaging comes out clearly in the environment of self service stores, where sales have to be dependent on the strength of packaging.
This is achieved by designing a package to attract consumer’s attention at the point of purchase, to furnish consumers with needed information about the product, so as to provide the on-the-spot persuasion and incentive that is often vital to make sales or required to propel consumers into buying. .
According to Rita Kuvykaite(2009) packaging attracts consumer’s attention to particular brand, enhances its image, and influences consumer’s perceptions about a product.
Also package imparts unique value to products ( Underwood, Klein & Burke, 2001 ; Silayoi & S peece, 2004 ) , works as a tool for differentiation, i.e. helps consumers to choose the product from wide range of similar products, stimulates customers buying behavior (Wells, Farley & Armstrong, 2007).
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