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.