Brands and businesses are becoming more and more aware that their packaging serves a purpose beyond functionality; it is also a strategic and strong marketing tool for those who know how to wield it.

Packaging boxes are even more of a necessity in online/eCommerce businesses, with every order having to be shipped in them.

Forward-thinking businesses understand that customers’ buying behavior is influenced when a thing appeals to their emotions. And what better way to thrill customers than to cause them to fall in love even before they unbox their order?

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Does Your Packaging Really Matter?

Let’s answer this way. If we’re given the option to choose between two packages, one, in a beautiful shiny paper box and another wrapped in a plain, dull-looking brown paper, which would you go for? The first, I guess.

This is because humans react to visual stimuli more than the other four senses. Science has shown that people are naturally drawn to aesthetically pleasing products and packages. In fact, customers feel valued when businesses go the extra mile to deliver.

It has also been proven in a study that dates back to 2013 that attractive packaging stimulates the reward-seeking areas of the human brain. And this area is what sponsors and triggers impulse buying.

If this is the case, attractive packaging is no longer an option but an essential marketing tool in the hands of eCommerce businesses. In essence, beyond the quality of your product, customers also appreciate businesses that pay huge attention to product presentation.

What are the Benefits of Premium Packaging?

Photo Source: Arka

Beyond monetary gain, premium packaging also purchases goodwill for a brand—something worth having. There are several benefits businesses, especially eCommerce businesses, stand to experience from offering premium packaging experience to their customers. Here are a few:

1. It Helps You Exceed Customers’ Expectations

By doing the unexpected extra when it comes to packaging, you ‘wow’ your customers on the first impression. And in selling, the first impression is as important as the last impression

Moreover, your packaging offering represents your brand’s promise to deliver a quality experience.

This implies that your customers will not necessarily return because your product was good, but because your packaging sells the message that you can always deliver premium value.

By exceeding your customers’ expectations, you easily set yourself above your competitors in the mind of your customers.

2. It Drives Sales

Packaging can influence sales both positively and negatively. Attractive packaging, for instance, has a positive effect on the customer’s perception of the business.

Also, the different elements of your design, such as the colors, imageries, etc. evoke strong emotional responses that can influence consumer buying behavior. Research has it that at least 1/3 of a consumer’s product decision-making results from personal preference as well as packaging.

Since humans are positively influenced by good visuals, premium packaging acts as a subtle advertising and marketing tool that helps to drive sales to the business. At least, about 52% of consumers will buy again if they are offered their orders with premium packaging.

3. It Promotes Your Brand

Your brand story, your brand identity, your brand values, and all it stands for reflects as a matter of fact in your packaging. This is especially true for eCommerce businesses.

According to a study conducted by Liam Curtley in Business 2 Community, it was discovered that the customer’s perception of a business’s packaging is always transferred to the product and the brand.

This means that a customer’s perception of your packaging is also indirectly transferred to the product and the brand.

So, if the customer considers your packaging to be drab, it’s almost impossible to convince him/her otherwise when it comes to how they perceive the product itself. It also goes on to make loud statements about how a brand perceives and values its customers.

More so, providing premium packaging is another way to garner word-of-mouth advertising, which we know is one of the most potent ways to sell a brand to the public.

Photo source: Arka

4. It Improves Customer Loyalty & Retention

Customers become loyal to a brand when the brand provides them with great value. And it is this type of customers that businesses need. This is because loyal customers provide lifelong value to the business, unlike a customer that buys once and never returns.

5. It Can Promote Visibility & Recognition

Product packaging is something that helps a business stand out from the mammoth crowd of other businesses.

The need for recognition, differentiation, and visibility is even more necessary for eCommerce stores where the market is saturated, and customer loyalty is hard to develop as opposed to the regular brick-and-clay store.

According to DotCom, about 40% of customers would share a picture of their online order if the packaging were attractive. At the same time, about 90% of them will reuse the branded box if they found it attractive.

All of these provide a way for the business to go visible, easily recognized, and viral online and offline, without having to spend extra on marketing.

5 Ways to Use Packaging To Increase Customer Retention and Revenue

Below are some strategies e-commerce businesses can adopt while trying to increase customer retention and revenue:

1. Custom Boxes
Photo Credit: Arka

Custom boxes, as opposed to the regular shipping boxes, is something trending eCommerce stores such as Amazon are keying into.

This packaging strategy helps to create a strong and lasting impression in the minds of customers and, eventually, goes a long way into marketing and establishing such a brand.

According to a survey conducted by DotCom, it was discovered that there’s a strong correlation between premium packaging and customer loyalty. In fact, customers would most likely make repeat purchases if the seller packages the product attractively.

When customers become loyal to a brand, the problem of customer retention is halfway solved.

2. Give a Thank You Card

Leaving a handwritten thank you provides a personal brand feel for the customers. And it has been shown that customers appreciate brands that offer their services in a more personal way. When this happens, they are most likely going to go on to become repeat customers.

3. Give a Small Gift

Including a small gift in their shipment helps you exceed the customers’ expectations. It also helps to provide higher value for the customers. By doing this, customers are “wowed.” And as we know, when positive emotions are triggered, purchases are the resultant effect.

4. Discount Offers

Packaging inserts are additional items that online retailers include in their customers’ shipment. They come in different kinds. One very common insert is the discount offer. This has a good chance of convincing the customer to buy again.

5. Sample Products

Another popular packaging insert used by eCommerce businesses is this. This is one way to cross-sell other products without having to do much advertising easily. It also helps to improve the brand’s value-giving perception in the mind of the customers.

Conclusion

The success of any eCommerce business or any business, in particular, is depended on their ability to provide a satisfying and memorable experience for the customers. One of the ways they can achieve this is by offering premium packaging to them.

This trend has now gone beyond an option. It has become a necessity for any eCommerce business that wishes to thrive.