By Ram Mohan Dhara

In today’s world of endless shopping choices, the way products are bundled and packaged significantly influences consumer decisions. From supermarket shelves to e-commerce platforms, bundles combining products like ‘potato chips and whole-grain salads’ or ‘ice cream and fresh fruit’ are common. However, the interplay between pack sizes, product combinations, and consumer preferences remains poorly understood.

This study dives into the cognitive challenges shoppers face when choosing bundles with varying pack sizes, exploring how serving size impacts decision-making. By uncovering the psychological factors behind these choices, the research sheds light on better strategies for marketers and more informed decisions for consumers.

Overwhelming Consumers

Modern marketplaces offer countless product options and promotions, often overwhelming consumers with complex decisions. Product bundling — combining two or more products into a single offer — is a common marketing strategy. These bundles can range from straightforward combinations like ‘two pairs of socks’ to intricate mixes such as ‘a family pack of salads and ice cream cones.’ Statistics show that such bundling strategies are employed across industries, with e-commerce platforms and quick-service restaurants being notable adopters.

Existing research has extensively studied the impact of portion sizes and pack sizes on individual product consumption. Larger packs often lead to increased consumption, especially for hedonic products like snacks or desserts, due to their tempting nature. However, how these pack sizes influence consumer preferences for bundles remains less explored.

Homogeneous Vs Heterogeneous Bundles

This research addresses this gap by examining consumer preferences for both homogeneous bundles (e.g., two hedonic products) and heterogeneous bundles (e.g., one hedonic and one utilitarian product). By employing experiments and qualitative studies, the research investigates how different pack combinations influence preferences, highlighting the role of decision heuristics such as “similarity” and “fast and frugal.”

The study’s findings are based on two experiments and a post-hoc qualitative study, shedding light on how pack sizes affect consumer preferences. Key insights include:

Homogeneous Bundles:

  • When potato chips are offered in smaller, convenient four-packs, people prefer them over a single larger pack. This is because smaller packs help them feel they are controlling how much they eat, even if the total quantity is the same.
  • On the other hand, when the product is something practical like a salad sandwich, shoppers lean towards a single larger pack, valuing practicality and cost-effectiveness.

Heterogeneous Bundles:

  • When a salad and an ice cream are bundled in the same size packs (e.g., both are smaller or both are larger), people tend to view both options equally. This is because the similarity between the pack sizes makes it easier to compare and choose.
  • When the salad is in a larger bowl and the ice cream is in smaller scoops, shoppers tend to prefer this combination. The smaller scoops of ice cream help them feel they are indulging responsibly, while the larger salad satisfies their practical needs.

These findings show that the size and combination of products in a bundle play a major role in influencing decisions. Shoppers often rely on simple rules like focusing on the most noticeable feature or choosing what feels more balanced.

Marketers Can Leverage Bundles

This research provides actionable insights into consumer behaviour, highlighting how pack sizes influence shopping decisions, particularly in bundle offers. By revealing that preferences for bundles are shaped by both the nature of the products (hedonic vs. utilitarian) and their pack sizes, the study opens avenues for designing more effective marketing strategies.

Marketers can leverage these findings to create bundles that resonate with consumers’ psychological preferences. For instance, offering hedonic products in smaller packs and utilitarian products in larger packs within a bundle could enhance its appeal. Additionally, e-commerce platforms can apply these insights to optimise “better together” recommendations, driving customer satisfaction and sales.

For consumers, the study underscores the importance of being mindful of how pack sizes influence their choices. By understanding the cognitive shortcuts (heuristics), they rely on, shoppers can make more informed decisions that align with their goals, whether it’s indulgence, practicality, or health-consciousness.

(The author is a Faculty of Marketing, Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH))

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