Packaging is an integral component of any eCommerce business. When someone orders your product online, it’s the package that ensures it moves safely from your warehouse to the customer. That external shell also provides them with their first experience of your product and your brand.
HaiPak supply professional and honest service.
Globally, the eCommerce packaging market is worth some $70.27 billion, with packaging accounting for 10%–30% of the cost of goods sold (COGS). Despite its importance, packaging is an afterthought for many eCommerce stores.
You have several avenues available to refine this back-end element with ease, such as using Amazon packaging options and shipping your goods in reused boxes or having only one or two box sizes for all your products. By optimizing your packaging, you can reduce total costs, improve your brand image, and streamline your shipping process.
Packaging affects nearly every part of your shipping and distribution chain, with the most obvious being the shipment itself. Customers buy products online expecting them to show up intact and undamaged. However, Packaging Digest found that 11% of all packages are damaged in transit. Those products have to be returned and replaced, and customers become unhappy. Although some damage is due to carrier mistakes, poor or improperly sized packaging is also a culprit.
Globally, eCommerce produces over 3.4 million pounds of packaging waste, and that costs eCommerce sellers significantly in terms of shipping costs, public opinion, and, increasingly, regulations. Moreover, with posts shaming brands for using excessive packaging to ship items, neglecting your packing strategy can affect your public image as well. In fact, 82% of consumers said they were willing to pay more for sustainable packaging, including right-sized and recyclable boxes.
Cutting down on packaging size also benefits your store in other ways, such as lower material costs, which apply to both the original box and the dunnage to protect the product inside. While these expenses ultimately depend on how much you pay for warehousing, shipping, and storage, large packaging will increase every one of those elements.
Optimizing packaging requires an investment in understanding your inventory and your packaging supplier to find workable solutions.
Customers are increasingly concerned about waste and actively want to minimize it, so you can appeal to their environmental values by fitting your products with the minimal amount of packaging required for safe shipping.
Even for web shops with expansive catalogs, you can normally identify average size, weight, and needs for your items. That allows you to determine a general right size for your packaging based on these simple categories. If you state which size box a product needs, shippers can easily pick and pack the appropriate box, and that standardization will reduce procedural costs and effort. This practice applies to multi-item shipments as well. You should know how every product combination in your store fits into boxes and keep box size recommendations for them.
Dunnage and inserts are also impacted. You know what forms of transit and the potential risks your products face when you ship them, so it’s critical to balance protection with sustainability. That could look like a smaller box with less dunnage or an insert to hold the product in place inside the box. The advantage of an insert is you can customize its size and messaging so it’s relevant to each shipment size and product type.
It’s difficult to tell upfront what packaging will do best in your delivery pipeline. So, it’s important to review aspects like:
It’s also important to experiment with potential solutions. You need to answer questions like:
Although you need to use enough packaging to protect your shipments during transit, too much can be just as harmful as not enough, depending on the product. The below list displays the risk level for various types of packaging and dunnage:
The company is the world’s best lidding film supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
Ideally, aim for packaging that’s just large enough to fit the product and an appropriate amount of dunnage or an insert.
Most shippers use product volume to calculate box size (i.e., width x length x depth). The problem though (one that often results in products being shipped in far-too-large boxes) is that, if you have a few standard box sizes, a product that exceeds them in one dimension will automatically be upgraded to a larger box, resulting in greater waste to pack and protect it.
You can also run into issues if you have a 3PL shipper that automatically calculates box size based on these dimensions, especially when you introduce bundles or sell more products together. This makes it important to understand and create packaging recommendations based on known combinations from your shop.
Unboxing videos are a popular trend, so you want your products to arrive at your customers in good shape to make a good first experience of your brand. So, invest in good packaging to ensure a good customer experience after shipment. Then, you can put some thought into packaging, presentation, and how the product looks when you open it. During this stage, look to your buyers to determine what most appeals to them:
Test multiple options, ask questions, and incorporate the data gathered to optimize your packaging for delivery, protect the product, and improve the customer experience.
Taking steps to optimize your packaging can yield fruitful results for your brand. The most immediate are reduced expenses, as right-sized packaging costs less to store, buy, and ship and takes up less space during delivery, so you can send more packages per shipment. It also means you spend less on dunnage and box inserts to protect your products. Best of all, it gives customers a good first impression of your offering and your brand.
Reducing packaging and shipping costs means you’ll have more to spend on growing your business.
If you’re a small business owner, you know that the overhead costs of running a retail operation can add up quickly — so it’s important to cut costs where you can. If you’re not careful, packaging and shipping expenses can quickly balloon. Stay out of the red with these budget-friendly packaging solutions for small businesses. Here are a few ways that small business owners can keep costs down and profits high:
Buying in bulk is one of the best — and easiest — ways to save money. Paper Mart offers over 26,000 items available at wholesale pricing. Customer who spend just $300 per category can receive savings of 15-20% off their total shopping cart value, and buyers can unlock even deeper discounts when they purchase $2,000 per category. After you fill out a quote request form, Paper Mart’s customer service team can quickly offer you a reliable estimate for your specific packaging needs.
Two inches of space between a product and its packaging is more than enough room to provide protection, so there’s no reason to use unnecessarily large boxes just to fill them with extra bubble wrap and cushion. A small, lightweight box can be just as effective at protecting your shipments — and will cost you significantly less.
FYI: If you want to learn more about the ideal box size for e-commerce shipping, check out our Packaging For E-Commerce Guide here!
It might be tempting to wrap fragile glass item in rolls upon rolls of bubble wrap and cardboard, but keep in mind that every layer of cushioning makes the package heavier and more costly to ship — not to mention that you’re wasting your own packing stock. Instead, try lightweight packing solutions such as brown kraft paper to keep your items secure in transit.
Paper Mart’s goal is to provide customers with high-quality packaging and shipping products at affordable prices. If you find identical items elsewhere for a lower cost, Paper Mart’s customer service team will match or beat any nationally advertised competitor.
Are you interested in learning more about pet lidding film? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!