What makes a great ecommerce packaging experience?
A great ecommerce packaging experience goes beyond just protecting products during shipping.
It’s a strategic tool for building brand loyalty, fostering customer engagement, and creating memorable moments that keep shoppers returning for more. Paying attention to the details allows you to turn each unboxing moment into an experience that sets your brand apart from your competitors.
In this week’s blog, we’ll be covering why a great experience should matter for your brand and how to use packaging to create that. Along with looking at the impact on both first and last impressions to foster long-term relationships with consumers.
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Why does a great packaging experience matter?
If you’re an internet retailer, the unboxing experience is a moment to wow your customers and the packaging you use has a critical role to play. On the most basic level, your packaging ensures your product is protected so customers receive their goods in perfect condition. But if you’re a pure-play retailer, packaging is the first physical touch-point consumers have with your brand.
But where to start? As a minimum, we’d recommend that you use ecommerce packaging that:
- Provides sufficient protection for your products
- Is easy to open
- Is light and space efficient
- Is the right size – with no excess material
- Is easy to return
- Is made from sustainable materials
- Is recyclable
4 ways to help you create a rememberable experience
There are many moments throughout the journey where you can create a great ecommerce packaging experience. It begins even before the customer opens the box, as the exterior of the package sets the tone for what’s to come. It ends with how easily the customer can dispose of the packaging provided.
Here are some factors to consider giving your customers the best unboxing experience throughout their unboxing journey:
1. Customisation opportunities
Branding your packaging allows you to interact with your customer as you would in a retail space, allowing them to take the store experience into their home and communicate through it. With peak around the corner, it’s easy to make the unboxing experience memorable with seasonal messaging. Not only to engage your customers, it also offers you an additional way to capitalise on the holiday demand.
You could introduce seasonal tape, labels or inserts alongside your standard packaging for a quick impact. These types of packaging are often available within short lead times and in lower minimum order quantities, making them ideal for shorter-notice promotions.
To establish a long-term ‘wow’ factor, why not explore custom printed cardboard boxes. They are a great way to create stylish, functional, and on-brand packs that consistently deliver an excellent unboxing experience that contributes to brand loyalty.
2. Environmental considerations
Packaging is essential to ensure products arrive at their destination safely and intact. However, it’s important that packaging is designed and used correctly to minimise its impact on the environment.
In an era of heightened environmental awareness, responsible packaging practices are not only commendable but increasingly expected. Our Peak Performance Survey found that 96% of online retailers and 3PLs said they’re using sustainable and recyclable packaging. But if consumers can’t easily see how to dispose of the packaging correctly, then unfortunately, it won’t be.
If your business is the same, and you already use eco-friendly packaging. You could consider adding messaging onto the pack or a small note alongside the invoice inside the parcel, showcasing clear recycling information. And if you are looking to start using sustainable products, check our great range here.
3. Accessible packaging
Accessible packaging is easy for everyone to open and use. Inclusivity is in the interest of both businesses and their consumers, allowing your business to connect to wider audiences. Integrating accessibility and inclusivity into the packaging design process should be as commonplace as factoring in specs like size, product weight and sustainability.
So, how can you design packaging to be more accessible and inclusive? Here are three inclusive packaging design principles to consider:
- The design should be equitable and ergonomic – The packaging should provide the same means and ease of use for all users of the packaging.
- The design should be flexible – The inclusive packaging should accommodate a range of preferences, so it is adaptable to different abilities.
- The design should be intuitive – The packaging must be easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge and skills.
4. Connected packaging
If you want to communicate and engage on top of the standard branding practices, why not explore connected packaging?
Essentially, it’s packaging that can be transformed into a digital experience. This is achieved by printing packaging with QR codes, barcodes or images that can be scanned with a smart device that launches a digital experience in a browser-based app. For example, the overlay of digital experiences onto the real world has been used to help transform packaging into brands’ media channels to drive sales and increase engagement.
As this is a very specialised topic, if you want to learn more from a leader in the space, check out our blog with Zappar.
How to foster long-term customer relationships with packaging
As the ecommerce packaging experience doesn’t end when the box is opened. It can be a powerful tool for fostering long-term customer relationships. Consider the extra things you could implement to further that engagement past the unboxing stage.
You could encourage customers to join loyalty programs or leave reviews by including information and incentives inside the package to build trustworthiness. (Plus, if you have implemented our suggestions, we’re confident you’ll get glowing reviews!) And don’t forget social media; encourage customers to share their unboxing experiences by adding shareable elements like branded hashtags.
Using innovative technology to discover the best packaging experience for your brand
Our team of experts can help you find the perfect packaging solution tailored to your business! We have design, sample-making, printing, and testing equipment all under one roof to make your custom packaging come to life!
If you want personalised advice about the best packaging option for your clothing business, contact us today.
