최근 화장품 시장에서 패키지 디자인의 중요성이 강조되고 있으며, 캐릭터를 활용한 다양한 제품이 출시되고 있 다. 그런데 화장품의 패키지 디자인에 사용된 캐릭터가 화장품의 구매의도 형성에 어떻게 영향을 주는지에 대한 연구는 미흡하다. 따라서 본 연구는 패키지 디자인에 사용된 캐릭터의 유형에 따라 지각되는 캐릭터의 특성과 화장품의 구매의도를 탐색하였다.
실증분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 소비자는 기능성 캐릭터를 조력자 역할로 지각하고, 상징성 캐릭터를 파트너 역할로 지각한다. 둘째, 기초 화장품에서는 조력자 역할을 하는 기능성 캐릭터가 제품의 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향을 주고, 색조 화장품에서는 파트너 역할을 하는 상징성 캐릭터가 제품의 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향을 준다. 셋째, 기초화장품에서 기능성 캐릭터의 조력자 역할은 객체 관련성보다 목적 관련성을 더 크게 지각하게 하고, 기초 화장품의 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향을 준다. 넷째, 색조 화장품에서 상징성 캐릭터의 파트너 역할은 소비자에게 객체 관련성을 더 크게 지각하게 하고, 색조 화장품 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향을 주는 것으로 탐색되 었다. 마지막으로, 기초 화장품의 기능성 캐릭터에 의해 지각된 목적 관련성은 기초 화장품 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향을 주고, 색조 화장품의 상징성 캐릭터에 의해 지각된 객체 관련성은 색조 화장품 구매의도에 긍정적인 영향을 주는 것으로 실증 되었다.The importance of package design has been emphasized lately in the cosmetic market, and a variety of products utilizing characters for package design have been released in the market. There has been, however, little research of how the characters used in the cosmetic package design could prompt consumers’ intention to purchase.
In the present study, we investigated the features of the characters perceived by consumers depending on type of package design. For this purpose, cosmetics were classified into basic cosmetic and color cosmetic, and the characters used in package design were divided into functional character and symbolic character.
Between-subjects experimental design was mapped out with 2 (type of cosmetics: basic cosmetic and color cosmetic) × 2 (type of characters: functional character and symbolic character). 370 Korean women participated in questionnaire survey. The data collected from the survey were put to analysis.
The outcomes from the empirical analysis could be summed up as follows: First, the functional characters used in package design of basic cosmetics were perceived by consumers as playing a supportive servant role. On the other hand, symbolic characters used in the package design of color cosmetics were perceived to play a cooperative role as partners. Second, the use of functional characters rather than symbolic characters as a package design of the basic cosmetics had positively influenced the consumers' intention to purchase the basic cosmetics. In color cosmetics, however, using a symbolic character rather than a functional character as a package design had proven to have positive impact upon the intent to purchase the color cosmetics. Third, the functional characters used in the package design of basic cosmetics made the goal relevance more perceptive than object relevance. The role of the functional characters perceived as supportive servant when they were used in the basic cosmetic package design turned out to have a positive effect on the goal relevance, Fourth, the symbolic characters used in the package design of color cosmetics had been found to let perceive object relevance more strongly than goal relevance. The object relevance perceived from the symbolic character used in the color cosmetic package design had a positive influence on the intention to purchase the color cosmetics. Fifth, it was learned from the analysis that the object relevance of the symbolic characters perceived when they were used for the package design of color cosmetics exercised a positive influence on the intention to purchase the cosmetics, and the role of symbolic characters perceived as partners when they were used for the package design of color cosmetics had a positive effect on the object relevance.