The Effects of Physically Opening Packaging on Consumers’ Perceived Familiarity toward Product

Abstract

Food sampling is the most prevalent tactic to enhance consumers’ purchase decisions in Kazakhstani traditional market. However, little attention has been paid to how to execute the food sampling effectively. Therefore, current research explored how the physical behavior of opening packaging in a food sampling context can facilitate perceived familiarity toward the offered product. Drawing on the theory of embodied cognition, the mind encodes abstract concepts as bodily movements. Furthermore, due to their direct and concrete characteristics, movements of the body and the consequent sensorimotor experiences are used by individuals’ minds to comprehend abstract concepts. Therefore, we hypothesize that physically opening product packaging provides at least temporary psychological closeness, which makes people feel a familiarity with the offered item. To address the hypothesis, one hundred forty-five undergraduate students participated in the experimental study with a 2 (physical opening act vs. control) between-subjects design. The results of ANOVA show that participants who tried to open the cover of the chocolate perceived stronger familiarity toward the sample due to reduced psychological distance. The findings provide an insightful understanding and practical implications for marketers in Kazakhstan that they can strive to induce favorable perceptions such as familiarity with the product in the sampling context.