The consumer acceptance of primary packaging alternatives

In a world that is constantly developing while resources are decreasing, it is important to improve the sustainability of products and their packaging, as well as make use of circular economy principles. Many large organizations have already or are currently optimizing their packaging with the intention to only use sustainable materials at some point in time. However, these initiatives are only successful when the new packaging alternatives receive the acceptance of the consumers. Thus, this research focused on “the consumer acceptance of primary packaging alternatives” in an e-commerce context. Possible reasons for the (un)acceptance, as well as the consumer perception on circular economy principles were analyzed in order to evaluate the likelihood and factors that influence the acceptance. In order to do so, a qualitative research was performed based on experiment and interview. Common influential factors like the design, price, sustainability extent, as well as awareness and concerns in regard to the current environmental situation were mentioned by the participants of the research. Nonetheless, it was also possible to determine emergent factors like the indication of sustainability, the additional effort required to purchase sustainable packaged products and the recycling process having to be convenient.