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Ecommerce Packaging Guide
Ecommerce Packaging Guide:
Enhancing Customer Experience
Nothing influences a customer's first impressions and perception of product quality more than product packaging. Customers expect their product packaging to be environmentally conscious and to provide a memorable unboxing experience. Bonus points if your product packaging can help you reduce costs, improve profit margins, and reduce your carbon footprint.
If you perfect your product packaging, your target market and new customers will start to associate your commerce packaging with your brand. For example, Tiffany has become synonymous with its blue packaging materials, and brands like Glossier have made their commerce packaging part of their customer's online shopping experience.
Simply put, your retail packaging can help solidify your brand identity, which is why it's so important to create commerce packaging that's the right fit for your small businesses.
Factors to consider in ecommerce packaging
When it comes to perfecting your ecommerce packaging, there are a few things to consider. Depending on what your e commerce business sells, some of these custom packaging solutions and features will be more important than others.
Functionality and protective packaging
If you're a packaging company that ships fragile items, you'll need to choose packaging materials and designs that will ensure the safe transit of products. This includes adding features like bubble wrap, foam inserts, and padded mailers when you create packaging. Other things to consider include using a padded envelope or adding extra tissue paper and environmentally friendly packing peanuts to your ecommerce packaging.
At the end of the day, better packaging is ecommerce packaging made from recycled materials that's cost effective and protects what's inside from damage during transit. Your packaging supplies should be efficient and durable.
Branding and unboxing experience
(+ frustration free packaging)
One of the best ways to boost customer retention and help stimulate repeat purchases is to focus on creating a positive unboxing experience for your customers. You should make sure this unboxing experience aligns with your brand's identity and will foster customer engagement. Use frustration free packaging, ensure your production and shipping process is seamless, and consider using custom printed tissue paper to ship products. Throw in a few extra stickers as an added bonus!
It's small details like this that can make the unboxing experience memorable, creating a positive impression, enhancing perceived value, and improving customer loyalty.
Sustainable and eco-friendly packaging materials & practices
Let's face it: customers are caring more and more about brands using and creating packaging that's eco-friendly and sustainable. Use packaging supplies or a poly mailer that's recyclable or compostable (i.e., Kraft paper), and offer customers the option to offset the carbon impacts of the delivery process. Many customers are willing to spend a little more on shipping costs if it means their custom packaging isn't negatively impacting the environment.
Other things to consider include using recycled paper, leveraging a nearby fulfillment center, and using recycled materials in lieu of bubble wrap or bulky protective packaging.
Weight of your custom boxes and packaging options
One of the biggest things many ecommerce brands are trying to do is to reduce weight to get their shipping boxes and other packaging options into flat rate shipping tiers. For example, the maximum weight for USPS first class packaging is 13 oz. This dimensional weight limit includes the packaging, and this is one of the hidden costs of the shipping and packaging process.
We can help ensure that the packaging solution our packaging specialists create for you won't weigh more than you intend it to.
Best practices in ecommerce packaging
If you're engaging with a packaging expert to help you design and create your e commerce ready packaging, here are a few things to keep in mind as you create your packaging solutions.
Optimize the size
As mentioned, you'll want to make sure the weight of your custom box doesn't cost you more in shipping costs. Your packaging partner should ask you things about how much space you'll need in your packaging boxes and poly mailers, so they can work with you to maximize this space. Do you really need bubble wrap? Should you use corrugated packaging? These are all good questions to ask!
Personalization and customization of e commerce packaging
This is perhaps the "most fun" part of the packaging process. Successful ecommerce packaging leverages digital printing and professional graphic design to ensure their poly mailer and packaging boxes act as free advertising for their brand. Make sure to incorporate brand colors into the corrugated boxes! Think of this phase of the custom printing process as a chance to use your ecommerce packaging to improve brand loyalty.
You can add a logo, incorporate brand colors throughout the packaging, and add text wherever you'd like on the packaging.
Material selection and recyclability
You'll need to be extra careful when selecting corrugated boxes and poly mailers for your commerce packaging. All of your packaging supplies and packaging solutions should be environmentally conscious. Tyvek envelopes may be ultra durable and puncture resistant, but is this type of commerce packaging necessary for every product you sell? Don't forget to focus on sustainability as you think about printing: should you use digital printing or printing plates? How big do your shipping boxes and commerce packaging really need to be?
Get started with CarePac
As you can see, thoughtful and strategic packaging is essential for the success of your brand. Integrating sustainability into your packaging practices is as important as it's ever been, as customers expect a certain level of environmental responsibility from the brands they trust. We encourage all ecommerce businesses to prioritize the customer experience and environmental responsibility in their packaging choices.
At Carepac, we have decades of experience working with companies of all sizes to create the packaging of their dreams. Contact us today to learn more about our customization, design, and printing process.
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