E-commerce has quickly grown to a primary shopping channel with over over one-third of B2C commerce taking place in an e-commerce environment. 80% of Americans shop online at least once per month – creating an unbelievable demand for packaging and packaging supplies. Another indicator of the digital rise in commerce: over 60% of Americans use online banking.
Consumers are proving that the convenience and other benefits of online shopping are worth the trade off of the immediacy of brick-and-mortar shopping. Because of this, the first physical interaction a customer has with the product is when it arrives in the box at their door.
A popular trend that e-commerce has given birth to: Unboxing. This is the process of opening a package that arrived in the mail, often recorded and posted on social media. Companies have increased their brand awareness and social media status by creating shareable unboxing experiences. What can you do to create a memorable unboxing experience?
Step 1: Differentiation
What can you do to make the experience of opening your package different from your competitors, or even different for each customer? Is there a free gift that is low cost for you as a business but would be appreciated by your customer? Some companies include personalized thank you notes for each order. Other companies have explored unique unboxing experiences. Here’s an article with examples of companies that have unique unboxing experiences: http://www.pressboardmedia.com/5-companies-that-make-gift-opening-a-year-round-event/
Steph 2: Product Care
Customers notice how their products are card for in the shipping process. If a product is damaged or not taken care of during the fulfillment process consumers are less likely to repurchase and may even share the experience in a negative light. This also increases returns and adds to costs later on. Increase customer satisfaction by using quality packaging materials that will impress your customers.
Step 3: Order Information
Making the process of online ordering as easy and seamless as possible is critical to customer satisfaction and increasing return customers. Ensure that the receipt for the order is easy to find and tags are attached as they would be in the store. Product manuals and company information should be easy to find as well. If returns are possible, a return slip should also be included.
As your packaging needs increase be sure to contact one of our packaging professionals to help you optimize your packaging processes.
