The e-commerce sector has grown rapidly over the past decade, it’s now reported to account for nearly 15% of the retail sales market. While this is an impressive amount of growth in what is still a relatively young market, it’s now more important than ever for online retailers to maximize their availability, influence and brand awareness with savvy online shoppers.
With the ability to buy almost anything online from groceries to high ticket items like cars and electrical goods, the internet has certainly opened the door to convenience, allowing consumers to browse and shop anywhere and at any time. However, the lack of physical interaction with consumers can result in a less than personal level of customer service, but there are ways to remedy this.
In this post, the packaging experts from Kendon Packaging will be sharing some expert insights on how e-commerce brands can optimize customer experience, buy-in and brand personalization through clever packaging and branding techniques – leaving shoppers satisfied and coming back time and time again.
Better represent your brand
Whether you’re selling health foods or luxury gadgets online, you should take every given opportunity to push forward your brand and core messages to your clientele. Without the ability to do this with visual in-store promotions and customer service, the presentation of your products and brand when they arrive at a customer’s door is vital.
When considering your packaging options, always keep your brand identity at the core of the design – this will ensure that it isn’t just the product that’s easily identifiable on opening. You only have to see a glimpse of iconic logos like Nike’s swoosh or Apple’s apple to recognize the brand, so think about how you can apply this principle to your own packaging solutions.
When it comes to logo and branding designs and colors keep it simple – opting for uncomplicated and sleek to convey a clear message. Also, don’t be afraid to be blatant about your branding positioning. One way to do this is with branded packaging materials that inadvertently pushes your message forward – think branded paper wrap, tape or even just a simple logo sticker brandished on the exterior of the parcel.
Other ideas include plumping for packaging materials that represent your brand or logo colors, but be sure to do this tastefully so you aren’t left with a package that takes away from the quality of the product.
Protect your products
With many products at the perils of couriers and standard postage services, there’s always a risk they won’t arrive at their destination in the same condition they left the warehouse – leaving less than satisfied customers with damaged or broken products. This is definitely not going to win you any kudos or repeat business, but as an online retailer, this is something you can have a certain degree of control over.
Firstly, you may want to consider switching your shipping carrier to a more reliable one or possibly invest in setting up your own logistics enterprise, giving you more input and control over the shipment of goods. However, one of the most effective ways you can better protect your precious cargo to ensure it arrives looking just as it did on the production line is to opt for robust packaging.
From durable cardboard cartons and bubble wrap to jiffy bags and shrink-wrap film, there is a huge variety of materials available for parcels of all shapes and sizes. It definitely pays to invest in premium packaging built to last – as it goes a long way towards guaranteeing every item reaches the customer intact.
However, one thing to keep in mind with this is not to over complicate your packaging. Think about the end user experience when unwrapping items. While they need to be sufficiently wrapped to keep them in mint condition, the unwrapping experience shouldn’t be hampered by fiddly packaging that makes it difficult for customers to get their hands on what’s inside. To find the right solution, experiment with a few different options in-house – testing both durability and ease of opening.
Project a premium brand
Following on from maximizing the customer’s end experience with your brand, you can further add value and buy-in from digital shoppers by aligning your brand and products with a premium packaging choice that reflects your company ethos. For instance, opting for recycled paper and other recyclable materials would be the perfect partnership for eco-friendly focused products – yet the costs for these products don’t have to be huge.
To ensure your packaging choices aren’t decreasing profit margins shop around to find the best products at the best prices – making sure you find the right compromise for achieving your desired quality and style, as well as meeting budget requirements. You can also ask for price reductions with wholesale purchases, buying in larger volume orders. While the initial outlay may be more, the long-term savings will mean you can satisfy both your stylistic needs and your monetary ones in one fell swoop.
Buy in to ‘unboxing’
If you’re a savvy online retailer you may have already come across ‘unboxing’ that’s becoming an increasingly popular trend on YouTube. If you’re not already familiar with it, this phenomenon films YouTubers unwrapping the latest toys, gadgets and more in front of their online subscribers.
For e-commerce businesses who rarely have the opportunity to personally interact with a potential customer, this influential marketing strategy poses the chance to connect and engage with them in a different way.
The concept behind unboxing is to enhance the sense of excitement and anticipation through the unveiling process, so to pull this off effectively it pays to have a well-thought-out packaging strategy that balances practicality with style.
First and foremost, always ensure products arrive in working order by packing them safely and securely, but also ensure the excitement of the unwrapping isn’t hindered by unnecessary or less than user-friendly wrapping.
We hope with these helpful hints, you’ll find plenty of ways to make your e-commerce packaging benefit both your customers and your business – resulting in positive customer experiences at every stage of the buying process.
Shipping Custom Packaging
Floship is a tech-powered e-commerce order fulfillment business located in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Besides standard e-commerce order fulfillment services like warehousing, pick & pack and shipping, we also offer custom packaging and marketing inserts. Want to offer your customers the perfect brand experience? We can tailor the packaging to your needs and help you truly convey the brand message and deliver the best possible customer experience. Want to learn more? Request a Free Consultation and get in touch with us.
Author bio:
Alex Jones is a content creator for Kendon Packaging. Now one of Britain’s leading packaging companies, Kendon Packaging has been supporting businesses nationwide since the 1930s.
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