The key challenges facing retailers in 2020
Retailers and Packaging providers are facing a change in the retail landscape. The retail stores are fast becoming the shop window, with more people choosing to purchase online. This blog discusses the key challenges facing retailers in 2020 and beyond.
A recent study by Statista predicts that by 2021, roughly 93% of UK internet users are expected to do online shopping.
With this change in the landscape comes one of the biggest challenges for traditional retailers – how to offer their full product range online.
As consumers, we expect to be able to purchase anything and everything online, including items that traditionally we would never have considered withstanding the rigours of the postal system. For example, delicate ornaments, crockery, glassware, chandeliers, wine, tins of paint, gourmet oils – we want it all delivered to our front door.
Traditionally we would go to the shop ourselves and take real care to get our purchase home in one piece – placing it carefully and safely in the boot of the car or onto the lap of a family member. Now retailers have to consider getting it to the customer via the UK parcel service without damage to the product.
Over the next five years, volumes of courier and express delivery services are expected to maintain double-digit yearly growth, rising by 54% between 2019 and 2023, that’s a lot of parcels circulating each day. As much as we would all like parcels to be handled carefully, the reality of the volumes involved means the chances are they will be subject to a knock or drop.
As consumers we all want our online orders to carry the minimum delivery charge and arrive undamaged.
The gratification we feel when handed our purchase by the shop assistant is delayed to the point of the item turning up on our doorstep. So, we need that parcel to look fabulous and exciting, to convey the “WOW” factor we expect from the item inside.
We want the packaging to be easy to open and easy to recycle – taking up the minimum amount of space in a recycling bin that only gets emptied every two weeks.
Oh yes, as consumers we are a demanding lot but, is it really such a high expectation?
There are packaging solutions available to tick all of these boxes for your customers – protecting fragile items in-transit, enhancing company branding, delivering the wow factory and meeting environmental expectations.
Self-seal corrugate packs are easy to recycle (no tape to remove), are easy to open and look incredibly neat on arrival. You can also add branding on the inside to enhance your customer experience. Compliment these with an infill such as Geami which is an all-paper solution. For more fragile items, like bottles, you could use Flexi-Hex® a plastic-free, biodegradable solution
A good packaging supplier will always offer a consultative approach to the retailer needs and look at the complete process that their product range undergoes – from picking to packing, shipping to delivery.
Why not call Macfarlane Packaging today to find out how we can help you offer your full product range online.