The Effects of Package Design on Product Experience and Parent-Child Purchase Decision-Making - A Case Study of Wooden Educational Toys

Abstract

Along with children’s development the toys that are suitable for them at each stage vary According to Maria Montessori an Italian educator if children aged 3 to 7 years old are provided with toys that are attractive and could help them play voluntarily and repeatedly their sensory ability is believed to be developed and cultivated Therefore if children can be engaged in making purchase decision the toys that are bought can not only better meet their preference and needs but also greatly benefit their development While selecting product in a brick-and-mortar store packaging is always considered the primary media between consumers and the product According to 林圓舒(2013) it was discovered that different types of packaging initiated different gestures providing people with different visual and tactile product experience Hence the present study adopted the analysis of Quantification III and classified the wooden educational toys that are available in the market selecting four types of educational toys which are operated by different gestures as experimental samples Moreover via observation from video recordings and EGM interview the product experience parent-child communication and decision-making process initiated by each type of packaging were investigated The present study found that the pleasure of playing was the major feature that attracted children who did not have much experience and were still learning to contact and select the packaging This finding was more evident in the half-sealed type of packaging which exposed almost the entire toy to the environment Whereas parents put emphasis on the features of being able to confirm the quality of the content and the functions of packaging after it was unpacked Accordingly parents preferred the half-transparent type of packaging which provided complete covering and allowed them to see the content During collaborative decision-making task the half-sealed type of packaging was found to initiate conversation between parents and children the most effectively Nevertheless in making a selection parents’ opinions were still quite decisive The percentage of selecting the packaging was higher if it was the one that won parents’ acceptance This finding was more evident in the half-transparent type and sealed and transparent type with a hole Consequently while showcasing wooden educational toys the half-sealed type of packaging which can best catch children’s eyes and initiate parent-child communication is recommended Finally it is essential to consider what kinds of operational experience that consumers expect from the packaging and manage to equip it with as complete covering as possible This way the packaging is overall more likely to win parents’ acceptance

Date of Award	2015 Jul 22
Original language	English
Supervisor	Min-Yuan Ma (Supervisor)