A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Children ' s Preferences of Package Design: The U.S. and China

This research explores children's preferences of package design. Based on the extant literature, we develop two hypotheses concerning gender differences in children's preferences for curvilinearity and figurativeness of package designs, as well as four testable research propositions to explore country differences in these preferences. An analysis of data from 555 U.S. and 682 Chinese children 6-12 years of age reveals that, unlike prior findings on gender differences in adults' preferences for straight or curved shapes, children generally prefer curved package shapes. Additionally, the results suggest that girls have a greater preference for figurative package shapes than boys do. Cross-cultural differences are also found. We present theoretical and managerial implications and future research directions in the concluding sections.