Contained: why it’s better to display some products without a package

Courtney Szocs (), Sara Williamson () and Adam Mills ()
Additional contact information
Courtney Szocs: Louisiana State University
Sara Williamson: SUNY Old Westbury
Adam Mills: Loyola University New Orleans

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2022, vol. 50, issue 1, No 10, 146 pages

Abstract: Abstract Across varying marketplace contexts (e.g., grocery stores, restaurants, e-commerce) managers display products with and without packaging, seemingly arbitrarily. Does displaying a product packaged as opposed to unpackaged influence consumers’ product responses? Six controlled experiments and an Instagram study address this question. We focus primarily on food products but show our results extend to non-food products that are natural (i.e., originate from plants, animals, or humans). We propose that, in addition to its physical function, packaging acts as a symbolic barrier that separates the product from nature, decreasing perceived product naturalness and leading to less favorable product responses. Consistent with our theorizing, the negative effects of packaging attenuate when product information or retail signage highlights the product’s connection to nature and are contingent on the importance of product naturalness. Our findings have implications for strategic use of packaging in physical and digital merchandising and sustainability initiatives aimed at reducing packaging.

Keywords: Packaging; Product display; Naturalness; Origin; Packaging waste; Symbolic barriers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11747-021-00800-3

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