Effects of sustainable packaging cues on perceived sustainability, purchase intention and price acceptance of cosmetic products

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Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Sustainable cosmetic packaging is increasingly important as consumers use packaging-related cues to evaluate the environmental attributes and value of products. However, empirical evidence on consumer responses to different sustainable packaging configurations and communication cues remains limited in Central and Eastern Europe. This study examines perceived environmental sustainability, purchase intention and price acceptance across cosmetic packaging configurations featuring conventional plastic, biodegradable plastic and glass, as well as consumer evaluations of Vegan and Cruelty-Free labels and QR-code cues. A quantitative within-subject study was conducted among 204 adult Slovak consumers using an online questionnaire with nine visual stimuli. Data were analyzed using the Friedman test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Significant differences were identified across packaging configurations in perceived sustainability (χ²(2) = 8.21, p = 0.016), purchase intention (χ²(2) = 16.09, p < 0.001) and price acceptance at the premium price level (χ²(2) = 28.48, p < 0.001). Perceived sustainability was strongly and positively associated with purchase intention (ρ = 0.686, p < 0.001). Configurations featuring biodegradable plastic and glass received higher perceived sustainability evaluations than those featuring conventional plastic, while no significant difference was detected between biodegradable plastic and glass configurations. Biodegradable plastic and glass configurations generated higher purchase intentions than conventional plastic. At the premium price level, the glass configuration received higher price acceptance evaluations than both conventional and biodegradable plastic configurations. No statistically significant differences in perceived sustainability were detected between the Vegan or Cruelty-Free labels and the QR-code cue. The findings provide empirical evidence on consumer responses to sustainable cosmetic packaging configurations and offer practical insights for packaging design and sustainability communication strategies.

Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic under Grant KEGA 041PU-4/2026 – Innovation of the course consumer behavior in the context of neuromarketing principles and tools and Grant VEGA 1/0673/26 – Research on aspects of consumer behavior in e-commerce with emphasis on neuromarketing approaches.

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    • Table 1. Overview of constructs included in the present analysis
    • Table 2. Sample characteristics (N = 204)
    • Table 3. Descriptive statistics for perceived sustainability across packaging configurations
    • Table 4. Differences in perceived sustainability across packaging configurations
    • Table 5. Descriptive statistics for purchase intention across packaging configurations
    • Table 6. Differences in purchase intention across packaging configurations
    • Table 7. Correlation between perceived environmental sustainability and purchase intention
    • Table 8. Descriptive statistics for price acceptance across packaging configurations at the highest price level (€23.95)
    • Table 9. Differences in price acceptance across packaging configurations at the highest price level (€23.95)
    • Table 10. Descriptive statistics for sustainability labels and the QR-code cue
    • Table 11. Comparison between sustainability labels and the QR-code cue
    • Table 12. Summary of hypotheses testing
    • Conceptualization
      Veronika Loumová
    • Formal Analysis
      Veronika Loumová
    • Methodology
      Veronika Loumová
    • Project administration
      Veronika Loumová
    • Resources
      Veronika Loumová
    • Supervision
      Veronika Loumová
    • Writing – original draft
      Veronika Loumová
    • Writing – review & editing
      Veronika Loumová
    • Data curation
      Kamila Maxinová
    • Investigation
      Kamila Maxinová
    • Software
      Kamila Maxinová
    • Validation
      Kamila Maxinová
    • Visualization
      Kamila Maxinová