CAN PACKAGE SIZE ACCELERATE USAGE VOLUME

Packaging influences usage behavior long after it has influenced purch ase. Managers of consumer packaged goods and public policy officials h ave, therefore, questioned whether a package's size influences usage v olume. Although often assumed, it has never been supported. Four labor atory studies and a final study in a Laundromat identity circumstances in which larger package sizes encourage greater use than do smaller p ackage sizes. Unit cost is a key factor mediating this relationship. A fter noting useful implications for decisions regarding package size p ortfolios, sales promotions, and public policy, the author concludes b y identifying other important but overlooked factors that increase usa ge volume and provide research opportunities.