E-commerce Packaging: Why It Matters for Online Businesses
E-commerce packaging is such an important factor in forming a positive customer experience. Online shopping delivery isn't the end of the customer's experience. Quite often, a customer's first physical interaction with a business is the positive or negative experience that they have unboxing the product.
Packaging, therefore, becomes an opportunity to encase a product in a positive and protective package that can communicate excitement and build anticipation. Packages can be designed to encourage unboxing posts and packaging can even be designed to communicate a brand's identity.
The E-commerce Packaging Market is projected to reach $173.9 billion in 2031 according to GMI Research. The growing market demonstrates the value that service excellence and packaging design provide as the online shopping market continues to grow and brands continue to compete.
Why Packaging Is Important in E-commerce
In an online shopping world, communicating and touching a product before a purchase is not possible. That is why the first 'physical' contact that a company has with its customer is the delivery. Packaging, therefore, should be viewed as an opportunity to communicate the brand.
Each delivery can not only protect the product, but also communicate a brand's trust and professionalism. E-commerce businesses should realize that their packaging is a brand pillar that directly influences customer satisfaction and retention.
Effective E-commerce Packaging Strategies
Custom Packaging Establishes Brand Identity
There are plenty of generic packaging options, but using customized packaging to highlight brand identity is far more memorable. The use of brand colors, logos, tag lines, and any other brand related design elements provide brand consistency to every order that is ultimately received by a customer.
There is no reason to overly complex the packaging, though. Overly complex packaging is far less likely to assist with identity recognition than brand packaging with a simple yet recognizable design.
Treat Your Packaging Like an Unboxing Experience
There is a high likelihood that a customer will post about an order they have received, unboxed, and posted about on social media. The unboxing experience is the beginning of the customer's relationship with the product and brand. The design of your packaging can make an order a memorable, positive experience for your customers and establish brand trust for your company.
Though, there should be some pragmatism with the experience. Creative wasteful unboxing experiences, though memorable, negatively impact customers perception of your brand.
Why Use Recyclable/Sustainable Packaging?
Most e-commerce companies and customers value sustainable packaging. It's very likely that a customer will notice the sustainability of packaging regardless if it is compostable, recyclable, biodegradable, or if waste is responsibly managed and disposed of.
There should be no loss of product protection from sustainable materials. Damage to the product will detrimentally reflect on your packaging innovation.
Designing Packaging That Focuses on Functionality
The design of packaging is about the balance between form and function. An eye-catching package that fails to maintain the integrity of the product during the shipping process is all for naught.
The packaging material, the size and shape, cushioning, and even the layout matter. Right-sized packaging actually minimizes the material used and prevents the product from shifting inside the shipping container.
Custom packaging that improves the customer experience and helps streamline your operations is worth the investment for businesses shipping products more than once.
Effective Shipping and Protection for Your Product
Being able to protect your product during shipping is crucial to customer satisfaction. A package is exposed to different unpredictable conditions and is subjected to many different forms of harsh treatment during the shipping process.
The combination of an appropriate sized box, cushioning, protective inserts, and packaging closures that are secure all help to minimize shipping costs within dimensional constraints and protect your product.
Product Quality and Packaging Combined Increase Customer Loyalty
Various interactions contribute to how a customer perceives an online brand, and packaging is one of them. Being able to see and touch a package that contains the product is part of a customer's experience.
Protecting a product during shipping and being able to open a package with little to no hassle are all important tips to customer satisfaction and creating a positive experience that encourages that customer to buy more from your brand.
Balancing Brand Identity and Packaging Protection
Different e-commerce brands have different packaging needs. The packaging for an electronics brand will look very different from the packaging for a cosmetics brand. Beyond that, a food brand will be concerned with the packaging's ability to protect the product's freshness and prevent product spoilage.
A much more effective packaging strategy coordinates a number of factors. Packaging must identify the brand, protect the product, and support sustainable initiatives, all within the context of the shipping costs that will affect the bottom line.
If e-commerce packaging works as an integrated system, it can protect and sustain the brand and strengthen the package's ability to deliver a positive customer experience.