Packaging plays a key role in raising brand visibility and identification. It helps in establishing an excellent platform for brand loyalty and promotion.
If you’re looking to maximize sales and enhance the brand awareness of your products in both online and retail stores, you must understand that the things that draw customers’ interest online and in stores are not always the same. Packaging that works well in an online setting might not work as well in a physical store, and vice versa.
The popularity of e-commerce packaging is building, and knowing how it differs from retail packaging will help you follow a packaging trajectory that will satisfy your customers and retain them.
It has been estimated that the fastest increase among all e-commerce formats is expected in the global e-commerce packaging sector. $49.2 billion is the estimated global market value for e-commerce packaging. By 2025—just over three years from now—this value is expected to rise to $98.2 billion.
Whether you want to make the most of both contexts (e-commerce and retail ), or you’re aiming to improve the customer experience through packaging.
The question of how to package your product for an online store vs. retail store attracts the answer of design and purpose consideration.
Making a clear separation between your physical store and e-commerce business helps increase brand awareness and boost the entire client experience.
This article explores e-commerce vs. retail packaging and their differences.
What is E-commerce Packaging?
E-commerce packaging is simply the packaging used to ship goods or products purchased online. It refers to how you can safeguard your products from the warehouse to the consumer, create a distinctive brand identity, and manage shipping expenses.
Besides ensuring protective and travel-friendly packaging, e-commerce packaging is used to enhance customers’ experience. Improving a customer’s experience through product presentation is crucial since e-commerce packaging is supplied directly to individual customers one at a time.
Packaging consists of the box, any filler you use, tape, and other inserts like discount inserts. Because customers will interact with your brand through the product packaging as their first point of contact, it is important to use quality and attractive packaging to create an optimal unboxing experience for your customers. Usually, this results in well-organized packaging and an enriching customer experience.
E-commerce packaging is used for building a brand identity that will pique customers’ interest and foster customer trust through repeat purchases.
E-commerce is also used for increasing profitability. You should pay attention to unnecessary expenses when using e-commerce packaging as this could affect your profitability.
The following include ways the choice of your e-commerce packaging can impact the delivery costs of your products:
- Using wrongly sized packaging might raise shipping expenses since you can be including an unwanted packaging space.
- Products shipped using unsuitable packaging material may get damaged, resulting in an increased number of returns.
- If the infill utilized inside the box does not shield the products, it could be an unnecessary expense.
- Larger boxes or heavier infill can increase a product’s total delivery cost. Hence, weight and cost are implemented considerations for e-commerce packaging.
What is Retail Packaging?
Retail packaging is a personalized design package for a product. Retail packaging serves as a display container for a product ready for sale in retail stores. Examples are products such as cream and perfume boxes, food product packages, and other products displayed on the shelves of a retail store.
Retail packaging integrates a company’s logo, brand color, and image and features vital product information such as expiry date, ingredients, allergy information, etc.
Retail packaging can be linked by using attractive and compelling designs to persuade customers to purchase your product when shopping in a physical store. A successfully packaged product can enhance sales in a competitive retail environment where consumers make decisions quickly. Your product’s packaging should be aesthetic, functional, and benefit both the retailer who stocks it and your customers.
You should consider the following points when packaging your products for retail stores:
- Use packaging that distinguishes your product from similar products. Storekeepers can see your products from afar and display them appropriately when your products are easily identifiable.
- Your packaging should ensure your products are ready to shop. This will enable shoppers to quickly identify and remove your products from shelves without creating a fuss.
- Consider using recyclable packaging to make disposing of the packaging as simple as possible.
- Your product should be simple to use and require less equipment to open the packaging.
Differences Between E-commerce packaging and Retail Packaging
The function or the purpose of packaging is one thing that differentiates e-commerce packaging from retail packaging.
The Purpose of E-Commerce Packaging
E-commerce involves buying and selling online rather than in-store through a user-friendly online shop. Unlike the physical store, customers do not have physical interaction with your product. They are only able to interact with your brand online. E-commerce bypasses the need to physically display your product on a shelf by delivering your products down to your customer’s doorstep.
E-commerce is gaining more popularity as businesses and customers find it more convenient for buying and selling.
The purpose and functionality of e-commerce packaging are primarily to meet shipping and logistics requirements.
Maintaining product integrity is a priority in e-commerce packaging. Customers are still skeptical of new products and expect to receive what they see online. You wouldn’t want to jeopardize their trust by delivering less than expected.
Therefore to guarantee that your products arrive at their destination undamaged, your products’ packaging for e-commerce sales must be protective, durable, and able to survive harsh handling during shipping.
E-commerce packaging is also designed to offer customers experiential unboxing. The prevalence of unboxing videos emphasizes how important packaging is for e-commerce deliveries. These videos generate many likes and can increase your brand’s popularity. Using video-worthy e-commerce packaging will increase your chances of getting featured in a customer’s unboxing video.
Your e-commerce packaging should also serve sustainability purposes. Nowadays, customers are more likely to gravitate towards environmentally friendly packaging; you are certain to enhance your overall brand image and customer loyalty if you integrate the message of sustainability in your e-commerce packaging.
The Purpose of Retail Packaging
The purpose of retail packaging is for visual merchandising. It should be aesthetically pleasing and effectively advertise the product inside the package. Presenting and displaying your product goes beyond the typical display shelf. It will be easier to design your product packaging if you have a clear view of how your product will appear in stores.
Aesthetically appealing packaging helps in maximizing product sales. Focusing on visual merchandising when packaging for retail stores will help put into perspective how much space your product will occupy on a display shelf and the way your product will sit on the shelf. A strong visual merchandising plan for your products will ultimately hold customers’ attention, raising their likelihood of purchasing your product.
The feel your product packaging gives a customer can also tell whether your product is picked off the shelf or not. For instance, sturdy packaging can give your brand and product a unique feel. Opt for packaging with a luxurious feel.
The amount of space your product take on shelves should be limited to allow retailers to stack your products for easy inventory. Bulky packaging in stores may be problematic for both shelf space and storage. Retailers require room to store your product for easy accessibility.
What to Consider During Retail Packaging
For retail packaging, choose packaging that retains and maintains product quality for shelf impact. Having functional packaging that protects your products from external effects that may cause damage to your product is key.
Since you don’t have much control over how your products are handled during the distribution process, It’s critical to prepare ahead and select packaging materials that will secure your products even when stocked.
Depending on your product, use suitable packaging that is not just attractive but durable. The following are types of packaging you can consider for retail packaging:
- Folding carton: although folding cartons are the least protective packaging, they are versatile. They come in a variety of styles and designs.
- Rigid packaging: this type of packaging offers a luxurious experience. The downside is that it can be fragile.
- Corrugated packaging: Corrugated packing offers the highest level of protection. They are mainly used for packaging heavier products that need extra support.
If you’re looking to package food products, folding cartons or plastic packaging would be a better option. They have a good printing surface, allowing you to give important information about your product, including expiration dates and ingredients.
Corrugated boxes are the best packaging material for packaging fragile products such as glassware. They cushion, support, and protect delicate products from damage.
Protective packaging maintains the quality of your product and helps ensure an optimal customer experience. Keeping the design elements of your packaging intact for customers’ experience will build brand identification, reputation, and in-store sales.
What to Consider During E-commerce Packaging
While having attention-grabbing online content like clear pictures, thorough descriptions, and an easy-to-use website is essential, keeping your promises to your customers when you deliver their purchases is even more significant.
Paying attention to the shipping and delivery process is essential if you must satisfy customers’ expectations. Shipping your products directly to the customer can be stressful; you don’t have an idea or control over what your product will be exposed to during the journey. However, you have full control over your product packaging to ensure it is secure and intact when it reaches your customer.
It is important you choose packaging materials that are best suited for your brand and product. Even though corrugated packaging provides your products with high-level protection, additional inserts should be considered for your e-commerce packaging demands.
Examples are foam inserts for fragile products, plastic tray inserts for food and medical products, molded pulp inserts with eco-friendly and sustainable features, and cardboard inserts with several printing options.
Wrapping Up
Making a lasting impact on your customers, whether they are buying your products online or in-store, is crucial in building a compelling brand narrative.
Keep in mind that the purpose of e-commerce packaging is for shipping and logistics, but this shouldn’t lower your creativity because protective packaging works well with creativity. You can be sure of customer loyalty when they derive satisfaction from your product and product packaging.
While aesthetics and visual merchandising describe the function of e-commerce packaging, it is important to opt for durable and protective packaging for distribution purposes. Both e-commerce and retail packaging requires reliable, robust, and protective packaging.
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