E-commerce packaging has made its place relatively strong during the Covid times. That difficult phase of everyone’s existence has undoubtedly raised the importance of online shopping. But how could a brand ship its products without giving them perfect packaging? Most brands are flourishing through the internet with the support of packaging companies, performing outstandingly well to augment the customer base and market share.
E-commerce packaging is much more than just wrapping the products to ensure their protection and safety during the transit process. It offers a bundle of benefits including an incredible unboxing experience. The use of packaging details impresses the consumers even before the actual product quality.
In this article, we will discuss all the tips and tricks to turn your packaging appealing, striking, and resourceful for the target customers.
E-commerce packaging is a process of wrapping the product to make its reach protected from the warehouse to the customer’s destination. The chosen packaging material should efficiently guard the product and keep it safe from any type of damage.
E-commerce packaging is not just about protection rather it is preferred to achieve the following advantages:
The product packaging should efficiently satisfy the potential customers. It’s a great technique that could give consumers an unforgettable experience. The use of suitable packaging materials, attractive images, and box dimensions grips great significance.
E-commerce packaging immensely depends upon two basic factors:
This is the strategy used for the packaging of products available online. Custom packaging holds great importance as they first impress potential customers through striking visuals. The second step is convincing the customers to perform repetitive purchases over just a look at the product packaging passed through the delivery procedures.
Understanding the appropriate product packaging is nothing less than a challenge for brands aspiring to be productive and progressive. The online platforms could augment customer expectations over just an image but its fulfillment could make you earn a competitive advantage. Packaging should highlight the product specifications. Customers certainly focus on appearance but what matters is what is hidden inside the package.
E-commerce brands mostly use corrugated cardboard boxes or poly mailers to achieve product packaging purposes. Both of these packaging materials hold durability, tear-resistance and waterproof qualities. Corrugated cardboard has become the first choice of brands due to its sustainability and environmentally friendly nature. These are immensely protective and could be achieved in any shape, size, and thickness.
E-commerce packaging usually depends on the size of the product. The quality of the packaging material makes you choose the appropriate printing method and proper artwork to impress the target customers.
Following are mentioned the materials mostly used for e-commerce product packaging:
The selection of E-commerce packaging totally depends on the weight it needs to carry during the shipping process. The choice also considers the safety of the product moving toward the customers. Let us have a look at the cost-efficient packaging alternatives available for the shipping of e-commerce products:
Shipping poly mailers are produced from a flexible material called polyethylene. Most of the delivery platforms are using poly mailers for product packaging. These are durable, tear-resistant, safe, and water-proof.
The envelopes holding lightly padded surfaces are also taken under the head of poly mailers. E-commerce platforms mostly prefer to have poly mailers because they are light and quite effortless to carry during the shipping procedures. These are best for clothing brands. They could be used for small lightweight to medium-sized products. These are not suitable for heavy articles as they remain unable to offer them the required safety and protection.
These are quite cost-efficient. Brands could easily afford poly mailers without putting any extra burden on their production budget. The poly mailers also hold an adhesive strip for smoothly closing the product package.
Customized mailer boxes are designed for small products demanding an optimum level of protection. These are best to use for jewelry, books, and makeup products. Mailer boxes could be customized according to product requirements and market preferences.
The durable packaging allows the brands to get the box printed at quite a reasonable production cost. These are tear resistant and hold walls/flaps to ensure the safety of products inside the package. Mailers are quite cost-efficient in nature and don’t require any adhesive material to ensure product safety. Mailer boxes also demand low shipping costs.
Custom mailer boxes are produced from eco-friendly packaging materials. These are quite effortless to recycle and take less time to break down.
Corrugated shipping boxes are undoubtedly the best and the most used packaging material all around the world. These are eco-friendly alternatives used by brands moving toward the protection of nature. These are generated from natural raw materials. While being sustainable, corrugated cardboard is also durable and biodegradable.
These are designed to carry heavy-weight products but the decision of weight depends on the size and dimensions of the box. There are many different types of corrugated cardboard available in the market, suitable for distinct categories of products.
There are additional packaging materials used inside the corrugated boxes to provide a cushioning effect to the fragile products. Bubble wraps and cardboard inserts are the most common to keep the products safe from scratches and breakage.
Bags or envelopes are best for small or lightweight products. These are designed to keep the items safe from scratching and distorting. These are produced from plastic, making them lightweight, waterproof, and tear-resistant. These are not environmentally friendly but protect the product from harsh weather conditions.
These envelopes are available in different colors, sizes, and shapes. Bags and envelopes are ideal for online brands offering small or medium-sized products. These packages hold self-adhesive strips and are considered best for the shipping of important documents. The fast-food brands doing home delivery are using plastic bags to conveniently carry the product to the customer’s doorstep.
E-commerce packaging usually holds two types of inserts:
Box inserts are used to turn the packaging presentable and keep the product safe during the transit procedures. They provide support to the product while earning customer satisfaction. Custom inserts for candle boxes are generated to keep the candles fixed in their position. Foam, paperboard, and plastic are mostly used in the production of different packaging inserts.
Promotional inserts are used for the efficient marketing of the product offered online. They are employed to create a connection with potential customers. It is a great strategy used to achieve marketing goals. The use of promotional inserts in E-commerce packaging gives customers an incredible unboxing experience while making the brand recognized. Thank You cards and discount cards are common examples of promotional inserts.
There are two main types of printing methods:
The process of printing digital images, designs, or logos directly on a variety of packaging materials is called digital printing. The method does not hold any type of intermediator. Rather the artwork gets transferred to the medium straight using digital technology. Such type of printing offers high-quality outcomes with low per unit package production cost.
The method involves the transfer of images, designs, or logos from metallic plates to rollers or rubber blankets to eventually shift it to the selected packaging material is called offset printing. Such type of printing is cost-efficient, consistent, and holds high quality to achieve the package printing targets. This method is usually employed for bulk printing.
Product packaging extensively depends on the type of printing method. The right selection of printing could efficiently enhance the quality of packaging. This is significant to improve the overall appearance of the product going to impress the target audience. Customized printing helps the brand in highlighting the product specifications and stand distinctive in the competitive marketplace. The display of appropriate information builds an amazing relationship between the brand and the consumer.
E-commerce packaging has to pass through a difficult phase of shipping. Therefore, it is recommended to implement the printing procedures on the inner sides of the package rather than on the outer surfaces. Online brands should utilize packaging inserts to convince potential customers.
The artwork design plays a vital role in attracting potential customers as it is something that interacts with the consumer even before the actual product. There are a few elements that you could incorporate in your product packaging design to make it appealing to the target market:
Buyers do not need funky colors or fancy artwork rather they require designs that provide a better understanding of the product specifications. The packaging shows the brand’s vision and is momentous for creating great relationships with customers.
Customized printing allows you to choose the color combination of your choice without any additional printing charges. Colors give identity to the brand. Therefore, it is imperative to make the right choice as it explains the brand’s personality and makes the recognition quite effortless for the customers.
The Brand logo is the first thing a customer notices about the product packaging. Therefore, it should be printed on quite a prominent surface on the interior and exterior sides of the package. Place your brand logo on an eye-catching spot to make it familiar to the customers.
To finalize the packaging process, prototypes are generated for the finalization of the package structure and printing method. No brand could waste its capital over thousands of boxes produced of the wrong size and inaccurate dimensions.
Customized packages are specifically made for orders. Therefore, it’s important to keep a closer check on the processes to reduce the package production cost. The prototype is basically the product packaging sample created to estimate the customer’s unboxing experience.
The shipping process is what the brand should be least concerned about. The packaging company after manufacturing the product boxes on your finalized prototype would find a freight forwarder to make the boxes ship toward the brand’s destination.
Lastly, I must say that the E-commerce packaging is the creation of customized boxes that helps the brand in the growth of product sales and fascinates the target market. It is difficult to start an impressive product packaging plan on its own, therefore online brands should hire a specialized packaging company for the production of custom packages.