Get your packaging on point

A brick-and-mortar store allows you to craft a physical first impression. The atmosphere, the textures and colours of your products, the fun details, and the decor of the place come together to give your business personality and presence.

Here’s the good news for eCommerce businesses: there are other ways to create that sparkling initial impression with your customers. Give them the best unboxing experience in the comfort of their own home and they’ll feel all the warm fuzzies that come with a fantastic in-person shopping experience. Product packaging is not just utilitarian, although it certainly needs to fulfill that practical purpose. It’s also a crucial part of making your brand beloved.

Here are a few specific reasons that eCommerce packaging can be a valuable asset, and ideas for how you can achieve a memorable unboxing experience for your customers.

Why is eCommerce packaging so important?

It’s your first impression. As we said earlier, your packaging is the first physical interaction your customer will have with your brand. What you started with your website, you can continue with your eCommerce packaging design.

People will talk about it. If they enjoy unboxing your product and are tickled by your personalised packaging, there’s a good chance your customers will spread the word—either in conversation or over social media. You’ve probably seen Instagram stories of people carefully unboxing their much-awaited purchases. That’s top-notch free advertising, and you want it.

It builds upon your brand personality. With a wide variety of eCommerce packaging solutions out there, there are many ways to add your vibe and values into the way you send out your product. The number of brands that focus on sustainability as part of their ethos is growing, and  there are eco-friendly options available. If you are into loud colours, you can create unique packaging that will reflect the vibrancy of your brand. You can take a look at our Instagram gallery  for inspo!

It protects your product. Design is so important, and not only for looks. eCommerce packaging must keep its contents safe and secure as they make the journey to the customer’s door. Form AND function are crucial. Unsuitable designs that don’t follow packaging best practice can result in lost profit due to returns of damaged goods. Ripped or squashed packaging can also give a bad impression of your product to your customers and reduce the likelihood of building brand loyalty. 

Up your game: Packaging tips for small businesses

Having established that your product packaging is important, the question becomes this: how can you make the packaging for your small business functional, fabulous, memorable, and relevant to your branding?

We have a few ideas.

Choose a practical packaging solution.

The best type of packaging to order and use for your small business will depend entirely on the product you’re sending out. If it’s fragile, a rigid box with cushioning materials will be needed. These are also ideal for awkwardly-shaped objects. If it’s clothing or textiles, a resealable  or compostable mailer will do the trick for most garments. For delicate or very high-end garments, a gift box may make the best brand impression.

At NEON eCommerce Packaging, we’ve got a team of packaging experts on hand to offer free advice on what may be suitable for your products to keep them safe during shipping. Consider a full range of options before you make a decision.

Choose your sizing carefully

A properly sized package is a tidy package. For your product to look great and arrive in good shape, you should pick a box, mailer, or other type of eCommerce packaging that fits the size and shape of its contents. Bigger boxes, cartons, and mailers are not only more expensive, but may also need more infill materials, so it makes sense to find solutions that fit just right.

Think about filler

If you have a fair bit of negative space in your box or need extra padding, you’ll be looking for infill materials. The typical styrofoam peanuts, air pillows, and bubble wrap are very protective but not necessarily aesthetically pleasing or eco-friendly.

Other possibilities include crinkle paper and tissue paper. These can improve the unboxing experience by adding excitement. Play around by matching the colours to your product or brand.

Create with colours

Using colours in your eCommerce packaging design is a simple way to make it special. With various layers, types of  boxes, tissue paper or other infill, and various labels and stickers, you can turn your packaging into art. 

Think about the unboxing experience

Are you sick of the term “unboxing” yet? Google will tell you it’s still really popular. Or just search it on YouTube and see what a difference it can make to your brand.

The research is telling as well. One eCommerce packaging study  found that 40% of online customers would share an image of their latest purchase on social media if it arrived in memorable packaging. This powerful word-of-mouth tool is essential for businesses looking to grow their brands. Creating an unboxing experience they’ll love and will be likely to share with their friends and networks is a great way to boost brand awareness.

So, keep this in mind when creating your eCommerce unboxing experience. You want some complexity to the process; perhaps elements to untie, unfold, or otherwise uncover. You want the materials to feel high-quality and look great. Package your product as though it’s the latest iPhone!

Personalise if possible

For small businesses, adding a personal touch to packages isn’t hard to do. Writing a personal note to each customer on branded notepaper is fantastic. When that becomes too much, add a business card or pre-printed “thank you” notecard. Stickers and labels can also send a delightful  message to those receiving your product.

Each eCommerce business, product, and parcel is unique. That’s the idea when it comes to small business packaging solutions: they should be chosen to fit individual needs.

To find the eCommerce packaging boxes, mailers, and other solutions that will boost your sales and help your brand to grow, view our collections . Our collection can help your products make the best impression, make sure they arrive safely, and get your customers talking.