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What is E-Commerce Packaging – Things You Should Know

Last Updated on November 25, 2024 by Steve Harsh

Does everyone know what Amazon or Shopify is doing in this post-COVID era? Meta is also predicted to try to take over this e-commerce market. They are all set to give hard competition to these existing e-commerce giants. So, what does it mean to be a common vendor working in retail?

Well, the thing is, every vendor wants to go big, and post-COVID is all about using the internet for sales. So, how are they supposed to use their packaging for this sector to ensure more sales? This article will give you all the tips for improving your boxes and other packaging products for the e-commerce trade.

What is ECommerce Packaging?

E-commerce packaging refers to product packaging that should be displayed on online platforms to enhance brand identity and sales. Specialized materials(sturdy and eco-friendly) and designs are used in manufacturing to provide ultimate protection to the product during shipping or while displaying.

Furthermore, eco-friendly material effectively resolves environmental concerns and meets customers’ expectations. It also ensures product integrity and contributes to brand recognition.

How Important is Packaging in ECommerce?

This is a technological era, and brands are expanding their businesses through online platforms. Therefore, each product requires specialized material and design consideration to display on online retail platforms. E-commerce packaging serves multiple purposes.

• Provide product protection during delivery.
• Highlight the brand identity
• Astonishing appeal gives an advanced unboxing experience

E Commerce Packaging Ideas

Read about the best practices for such e-commerce packaging trade.

Size It Well:

So, no one would accept a package that reaches them in a box too small for the product. It would look like a train in a rabbit hole. Similarly, your big box can not carry something small; it will be like a round peg in a square hole.

Such a package can negatively affect your customer experience. However, several add-ons may keep your product looking right-sized for your package. For instance, you can try using inserts or pillows for your packages.

Environmental Factors:

You can avoid issues when you protect your ecommerce packages from environmental factors like temperature, pathogens, contaminants, and sun. So, ensure you use packages to prevent any flavor, color, texture, or other loss. There are studies on how different packaging designs can help reduce food wastage.

The experts believe that portion sizing and knowing your food product use behaviors can help. This way, your e-commerce products in the food category can be protected from general no-use wastage. It will also protect them from any environmental issues that play a role, like moisture and pathogens.

Further, your packaging designs need to use custom tools that make your food products safer during transit in the e-commerce trade.

Package Graphics:

Using the right package graphics is a must your ecommerce business needs to remember. So, here are some things to keep in mind.

• Right color separations
• Best images resolution
• Impressive coatings
• Stupendous illustrations and fonts
• Use of great logos
• Using embossing or debossing plus other effects where required
• The right labeling methods.

Legal Needs:

This one applies to any product that needs a package or box and must follow laws regarding labeling. Products like CBD, candles, soaps, and everything else you see need to comply with labeling. So, using the right methods for labeling is a must.

So, keep in mind that these laws will apply to your packaging. In the US, you must follow dozens of acts on FDA labeling rules and laws for your trade.

Ecommerce Packaging Trends

Using ecommerce packaging trends can improve results by giving the following benefits:

• These trends give you better brand awareness and loyalty.
• Your customer experience can further improve.
• It also helps you by improving the product’s safety.
• You can further utilize this packaging type for better marketing and storytelling of your brand.

Here are some top trends you can use for your packaging:

• You can try using sustainable packaging materials to make your boxes stand out.
• Personalization and customizations can improve your customers’ experience for ecommerce business models.
• Smart packaging can help you gather data about your products to improve them further.
• Edible and water-soluble packaging is a novelty that would improve the customer experience.
• These boxes can also be minimalist in looks as they are a trend.

Ecommerce Packaging Vs. Standard

Knowing the difference between ecommerce and standard packaging can help you make more informed decisions.

• Ecommerce packaging is made to bear the difficult handling and shipping conditions of such products. On the other hand, the packaging is not designed to have this kind of strength and protection.
• Your commerce packaging normally comes in sizes optimized to minimize waste and eliminate extra shipping costs. It may also have various shapes compared to standard ones.
• Ecommerce boxes are also more durable to avoid crushing and bear bumps and drops.
• In ecommerce boxes, you have to spend extra due to their custom sizes and the material strength.
• On the other hand, standard packaging is more generic, has less material, and is mass-produced.
• Sometimes, e-commerce packaging contains minimal branding as there are space limitations.
• On the other hand, standard packaging is always eye-catching and filled with branding elements.

Types Of Boxes For Ecommerce

Your boxes must keep your products safe, but what types will help you get that? The thing is, some standard boxes, like corrugated boxes, make things easy for you. Some others are:

• Padded mailers
• Bags
• Custom boxes
• Rigid boxes

Also, stores on marketplaces like Amazon sell cardboard boxes for such jobs. Such boxes can protect your products with their thickness.

Custom boxes have no limits, so you can use the box types that suit your job. So, the better you learn about your needs, the more results you can get with them for long routes.

Creativity With Shapes

E-commerce is about impressing your audience and customers with great vibes they can make on social media. So, when they search for a product, they keep in mind that their designs play an important role. That is why some shapes add creativity to any packaging. Use the ones that may apply to your packaging in e-commerce:

• Origami boxes
• Polygonal boxes
• Shoe packaging purses
• Pentagonal boxes
• Hexagonal packaging

These packaging types may not work for the outward part but will work for their creativity. So, you can pack your product in them as the immediate box or the primary packaging idea. You may need another packaging for protection and some other features.

Packaging Effects on Marketing and Sales

The psychology of marketing and packaging plays an important role. So, here are some tips to improve your sales:

• Using vivid pictures improves your potential customers’ happiness levels, so you can increase sales by using this emotion for your product. The correct elements can also help improve your product’s attractiveness.
• When you use specific packaging, ensure that the size, form, material, and colors work together to create an impression.
• Using the right packaging can surpass the benefits of a good advertisement.
• For your customers, your product packaging is just like the product, so it impacts their overall impression.

These effects have a good impact and need attention from vendors during the design of e-commerce packages. So, what is e-commerce packaging? Your e-commerce packaging needs to help improve your sales in the industry, and this is what it truly means to be.

Sustainability and Sales

So, sustainability is a big question for your customers these days. They care a lot about the sustainability of their packaging when buying anything. That is why the same will always apply to the e-commerce deliveries they receive.

So, here are some stats:

• 67 percent of consumers believe that they should make sustainably aware decisions.
• 58 percent are looking to buy sustainable products for their use.
• 55 percent of consumers believe that plastic is terrible for their health.
• A global study shows that 54 percent consider using sustainable solutions when buying.

These facts show how sustainable products impact your consumer’s decisions. This way, your e-commerce packages must follow the best sustainability practices to ensure more sales. Consumers are increasingly interested in sustainable product packaging, so keep that in mind and pack accordingly.

Easy To Use Products

One of the top e-commerce packaging trends is the ease consumers can open your products. Your consumers’ experience must be memorable, and you must never forget this. So, the better you care for your consumers, the more they will be interested in buying.

So, your e-commerce products must be portable, easily opened, and resealed. That is why one of the most important e-commerce packaging ideas is sustainable, easy-to-open packaging.

Make eCommerce Cost-Effective

E-commerce packaging also needs to be cost-effective and help improve your results. So, using the right methods ensures its cost-effectiveness. That is why you should:

• Use corrugated boxes and dividers for your packaging.
• Also, you can try stuffing materials.
• Moreover, using automation can help improve your results and help improve your packaging.

Let Your Ecommerce Journey Be Easy

Your online business needs reliable e-commerce packaging solutions, so we offer the right services you need. Furthermore, we ensure you get the best packaging products for your online business. So, this article was to tell you what does e commerce packaging mean.

Also, you can read about top practices for e-commerce trade. At the same time, we gave you information about cost-effectiveness, shapes, graphics, and other features to remember.