The Effect of Packaging Material on Consumer Evaluation and Choice: A Comparison Between Glass and Tetra-Pak in the Olive Oil Sector

Introduction

In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, packaging represents one of the most important factors in the buying decision process. From the consumers’ perspective, it is an important source of information at the point of sale. Its overall features can underline the quality and the uniqueness of the product and, then, influence the purchasing decisions (Silayoi and Speece, 2007; Stewart, 2004). As a consequence, from the manufacturers’ standpoint packaging becomes an essential part of the selling strategy, providing the last opportunity to persuade possible buyers before brand selection (e.g., McDaniel and Baker, 1977; Prendergast and Pitt, 1996; Rettie and Brewer, 2000; Silayoi and Speece, 2004).

Starting from these evidences, some authors have defined the packaging as an intrinsic property of the product and the brand, which influences brand recognition, creates positive or negative brand associations and informs consumers about the product category, personality and quality (e.g., Evans and Berman, 1992; Keller, 2009; Orth and Malkewitz, 2008; Silayoi and Speece, 2007). In this perspective, packaging assumes a role similar to other marketing tools, becoming a vehicle for communication and branding (Rettie and Brewer, 2000). This makes choices on the communication elements of the package strategic marketing and positioning decisions. With this premise in mind, a clear understanding of the impact of the package elements is crucial to enhance point of purchase communication and support the selling strategy (Vergura and Luceri, 2018).

A central stream within the marketing research concerns the impact of visual and verbal elements of packaging in the product selection process. Visual elements include colour, shape, material, size and graphics, while verbal elements include information like ingredients, nutritional value, and country of origin. Several authors found that both visual and verbal elements could have a powerful effect on consumers’ responses to a product and can influence the purchasing decision (e.g., Andrews et al., 2013; Aschemann-Witzel and Hamm, 2010; Faulkner et al., 2014; Garretson & Burton, 2000; Gorton et al., 2010; Hoegg and Alba, 2011; Hogg et al., 2010; Liaukonyte et al., 2013; Raghubir and Greenleaf, 2006; Saba et al., 2010; Schoormans and Robben, 1997; Silayoi and Speece, 2004; Tan and Tan, 2007; Underwood et al., 2001; Underwood and Klein, 2002; Wansink and Chandon, 2006).