Bigger isn’t always better : Packaging size influences on purchasing behavior and intention

UBC Undergraduate Research

Bigger isn’t always better : Packaging size influences on purchasing behavior and intention Chang, Alden; Lu, Amy; Li, Glenda; Dong, Leyla; Zhang, Han; Liu, Zoe

Abstract

This study aimed to determine university students' purchasing intentions based on the packaging size of food products. It was hypothesized that smaller packaged food products would be significantly favored over larger packaged items. A within-group comparison was made for the 155 student participants (M= 21, 68.39% Female) recruited for this online Qualtrics Survey. Of the two conditions, the large packaging size is defined as carrying an amount exceeding 300g, and the small packaging size of food is defined as carrying an amount less than 300g. Participants were randomly asked to indicate which product they would purchase between two sizes of the same 12 products provided from the Food Hub Market. After the survey, participants completed a demographic questionnaire and were shown a debriefing letter. Results were analyzed using a single sample t-test and binomial test, which indicated students’ intended to purchase smaller packaged items significantly more than large packaged items, supporting our hypothesis. The study coded for participants’ reported reasons of packaging size choices, including frequency of need of the product, price, expiration date, and appearance. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Item Metadata

Title	Bigger isn’t always better : Packaging size influences on purchasing behavior and intention
Creator	Chang, Alden; Lu, Amy; Li, Glenda; Dong, Leyla; Zhang, Han; Liu, Zoe
Contributor	University of British Columbia. UBC Wellbeing; UBC Food Hub; University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning
Date Issued	2023-04-16
Description	This study aimed to determine university students' purchasing intentions based on the packaging size of food products. It was hypothesized that smaller packaged food products would be significantly favored over larger packaged items. A within-group comparison was made for the 155 student participants (M= 21, 68.39% Female) recruited for this online Qualtrics Survey. Of the two conditions, the large packaging size is defined as carrying an amount exceeding 300g, and the small packaging size of food is defined as carrying an amount less than 300g. Participants were randomly asked to indicate which product they would purchase between two sizes of the same 12 products provided from the Food Hub Market. After the survey, participants completed a demographic questionnaire and were shown a debriefing letter. Results were analyzed using a single sample t-test and binomial test, which indicated students’ intended to purchase smaller packaged items significantly more than large packaged items, supporting our hypothesis. The study coded for participants’ reported reasons of packaging size choices, including frequency of need of the product, price, expiration date, and appearance. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”
Subject	Food; Climate; Wellbeing
Genre	Report
Type	Text
Language	eng
Series	UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report; University of British Columbia. PSYC 421
Date Available	2023-09-07
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI	10.14288/1.0435789
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/85826
Affiliation	Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of
Peer Review Status	Unreviewed
Scholarly Level	Undergraduate
Rights URI	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

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