Make Your Business Stand Out With Packaging that Delights and Creates a Significant Unboxing Experience
When your business is entirely online, your first physical touchpoint with your customer is your packaging. Without the impact of an in-person experience, your packaging needs to pull its weight to make sure your customers buy from you again. Custom box design for e-commerce will make the moment your product arrives personalized because your customer will feel like you put effort into packing their order just for them.
Rather than sending out a blank brown box, make the arrival of your products stand out! And we don’t mean making all your packaging neon green with a ton of design, (unless, of course, this matches your branding,) but make your packaging look like you. Your customers will be able to recognize your product right away, and it will help build excitement for their order before they open the box.
Since 2014, e-commerce has been growing exponentially, and it’s expected to reach 88% growth in 2018. From subscription boxes to handmade products, e-commerce businesses are popping up everywhere online. With a space that’s becoming more and more competitive, one way new businesses can stand out is through custom box design.
Along with helping your package stand out, custom box design can also protect your products better than a generic box is able to. Packaging protection is especially important for e-commerce businesses because of the different way that the shipping process is carried out compared to traditional retail.
Items ordered from brick and mortar stores are handled, on average, about five times on its journey to the customer. The majority of the traditional retail shipping process is completed with forklifts and pallets, leaving little room for packages to be damaged, (although it indeed does happen.) In e-commerce, your packages might be handled manually 20 times or more as it moves between shipping centers and delivery trucks. With so many people handling your product before it even reaches its destination, there’s a significant amount of risk involved. Custom box design can ensure that your products are receiving the most protection possible because you’ll be creating a package that will perform precisely the way your products need.
Damaged products can be a nightmare for e-commerce businesses. Your business might live or die on reviews, and most customers are likely to sever ties with a business if their product arrives broken. With better product protection, you can ensure that people aren’t jumping onto your social media to leave angry or disappointed comments that might turn potential buyers away.
While custom box design might seem pricey at first, consider this. A damaged product typically costs a business 17 times more than it would to ship. If you could eliminate this expense from the start with high-quality package design, it could save your budget.
E-Commerce Requires a Unique Approach to Custom Box Design to Reinforce Repeat Purchases
Without the in-person experience, another challenge e-commerce businesses face is that their customer’s buying process solely relies on what they see online in pictures and read in descriptions. Because they’re not able to see the item they want in person, returns are frequent. E-commerce stores typically see a return rate of 20 to 30 percent, which is significantly higher than the five percent rate for retail.
Combined with a higher return rate, it’s been shown that e-commerce customers are also looking for a simplified return process — and your packaging can help with this. Custom box designs can be used to implement an easy return shipping label for your customers. Your business might even find it beneficial to create reusable packaging. Corrugated mailers with tear strips reduce the size for return packaging, making it cheaper on your end to ship the second time.
Another way you can make a good impression on your customers? Show that you care about the environment through your packaging. Sustainability is a growing thread of conversation among consumers. If you make it easy for customers to recycle your packaging, they’re likely to be more engaged with your business. Your customers are looking for packaging that’s easy to break down and shows that it’s recyclable.
Sustainability is quickly switching from a trend to an expectation to many consumers, and you don’t want your business to be viewed negatively because you elected to go without it. Luckily, corrugated is one of the most recycled materials in the world, and you can even use recycled material in your custom box design.
No matter what box style you choose, your e-commerce packaging should be based on what your audience is looking for. As one of your first touchpoints with the customer, your packaging needs to offer everything from a reflection of your brand to adequate protection to reinforce repeat purchases. With the right designer on your side, you can create packaging that delights and inspires customers to continue their relationship with your business.