Master Product Packaging For Your eCommerce Brand

The eCommerce industry can be a great space for your business to thrive. It offers access to a global marketplace of consumers. The overheads can be lower than brick-and-mortar counterparts, which makes profitability more achievable. Nevertheless, the positives of eCommerce also present a distinct challenge. There’s an awful lot of competition out there. It’s vital to elevate your eCommerce brand in a crowded marketplace. One of your most powerful tools is the product packaging you use. We’re going to look a little closer at how packaging can make a difference in your brand experience. 

Leverage Psychological and Emotional Impact

Product packaging can affect how people think and feel about the objects inside them. Your eCommerce brand might sell the most reliable and attractive items in your industry. However, a bland or faceless piece of packaging can derail your impact. Customers might not be excited about opening it. They may not want to talk to their friends, family, and colleagues about it.  For this reason, you will need to put some thought into your packaging design. Your efforts can mentally prime your customers for the type of experience you want them to have.

Your choice of colors is a good example of this. There’s a lot of research to support that color directly influences how people feel and behave. For instance, red can evoke energy and also stimulate the appetite. Blue is considered to have a calming effect and promotes relaxation. You should explore what hues best reflect the feelings you want to provoke in your customers. Make certain this reflects your brand image. Splashing red across your packaging might generate excitement to dive into your products, yet it might not be a good representation of a tranquil wellness brand.

Don’t just consider the printed aspects of your product packaging. The shapes you choose can also affect psychology and emotion. For example, your items might seem more fun to use if they arrive in soft or bubble-like shaped packages. If you’re promoting efficiency or a business-like image, slim and straight shapes feel more no-nonsense.

Remember, though, that perceptions and emotions change over time. Perform some market research to better understand the thoughts and feelings your target demographic associates with different design approaches.  

Be Mindful of Consumers’ Relationships with Packages

It’s easy to think of eCommerce packaging as something that consumers just discard. Yet, consumers can have quite complex relationships with these materials. Some of the most effective product packaging strategies take into account consumers’ relationships with packaging. This gives you insights into how best to engage them.

Some elements to consider include:

• Sustainability and values: One of the common relationships consumers have with packaging is how it aligns with their values. It’s worth getting to know what’s important to your customers so that your packaging reflects this. This could involve using recycled materials and keeping packaging minimal. You can also use green messaging on your packaging, but it’s important to ensure this is an authentic reflection of your actions. You don’t want to get a reputation for greenwashing.
• The unboxing process: Your customers have likely had frustrating unboxing processes in the past. They don’t want to cut through zip ties or struggle with heat-sealed plastic. These put a negative spin on unboxing and the customer’s feelings about your brand. Instead, make unboxing as simple and pleasant as possible. Maintain solid accessibility standards. The outer casing should be easy to remove. Protect each item while making it simple to take them out.

The upshot is that you want your customers to buy and open more of your packages. The more positive associations they have with your packages, the greater the likelihood they’ll buy again and encourage others to do so. Take the time to gather your design team to focus on positive relationships with your packages. Create some prototypes and test these with consumers.

Treat Product Packaging as a Marketing Opportunity

If you want to elevate your eCommerce brand, you need to reach as many people as possible. This means you can’t waste your packaging as a marketing tool. After all, after it’s been delivered, the packaging is right there in someone’s hands. The outreach has already been done! Your job now is to ensure your packaging encourages the customer to share it with others.

Some of the aspects that may provoke sharing include:

• Funny or sarcastic text. Making your customers laugh can be a great incentive to share photos of your packaging. It’s important that this is brand-appropriate though.
• Personalized elements. Thank customers by name on the packaging. Feature images related to their geographical region. This is the type of individualized customer consideration that buyers may want to talk about.
• Make the packaging fun to interact with. You could print patterns on the packaging so customers can reuse it to build an object. Print QR codes on the packaging that direct customers to an entertaining piece of video content or a simple mobile game. Importantly, make it easy for them to share their results and experiences on social media.
• Discount codes. Don’t just print these for the use of your loyal customers. Encourage them to share it with others online to spread the love. A separate coupon for a larger discount for the customer can demonstrate your appreciation, too.

Keep your audience in mind when adapting your packages for marketing purposes. You don’t want to invest in making games or printing jokes if your target demographic isn’t active on social media. Similarly, personalized packaging may not be very impactful for business customers. Ensure your packaging designers collaborate with your marketing department. Have them create materials that align with audiences and campaigns alike.

Conclusion 

Paying careful consideration to your packaging can be a powerful tool for elevating your eCommerce brand. Adjust your current approach. This can key into positive emotions, align better with customers’ needs, and encourage sharing behavior. That said, it’s important not to dive headlong into what can be a significant investment. Look at how you can proceed in the most cost-effective ways possible. Don’t derail your brand’s sustainability standards by using excessive materials for exciting new packaging. Aim to find that sweet spot where responsible approaches to packaging meet enhanced engagement.

If you’re looking for additional support with your packaging design and overall branding, reach out to our Trellis team for a free consultation on how to scale your eCommerce business.

Author bio

Charlie Fletcher is a freelance writer passionate about workplace equity, and whose published works cover sociology, politics, business, education, health, and more. Check out the full portfolio on https://charliefletcher.contently.com/.