Atypical package design and product category prestige

Innovation in the design of products has become an important competitive tool of success in the market for many firms (see the virtual issue on Design Innovation in the Journal of Product Innovation Management [2020]). A few firms have had success in the market by adopting innovative designs. But not all innovative designs give success to firms. This research focuses on package design as an important marketing tool of innovation, influencing consumer responses to products. When designing packaging, firms typically follow category‐based visual codes, but they can adopt an innovative design that deviates from the codes, producing atypical package designs. This research shows that the effectiveness of atypical package design depends on product category prestige. Consumers respond to signals about product quality, such as package design, when they believe the signals are credible. When a product category is prestigious, consumers perceive package design as a diagnostic signal. Consumers are more likely to infer high product performance from an atypical package design and choose that product. We compare three dimensions of product design (aesthetics, functionality, and symbolism) to reveal that functionality is the reason why consumers prefer an atypical package design in a prestigious category. A series of studies show that the preference for atypical package design becomes stronger when consumers are choosing products in a prestigious category than in a standard category. The preference for atypical package design is attenuated when other information related to performance is provided, even when the aesthetics and symbolism of atypical package design do not change.