Imagine your customer standing in a grocery store, staring at the pack of cereal boxes on the shelves. They are in a hurry to make a quick decision. What will influence them the most?
The Packaging, right?
The bright-colored box that connects with you and tells a brand story can grab your customer's eyes. They are more likely to pick a visually appealing box and convey the right brand message.
That’s the everyday scenario. Packaging influences most of the customer's decisions, almost for at least 72%.
With the increasing online shopping, it has become more important for your brand to differentiate itself from your competitors and convey the brand story. With the right packaging and trending designs, your brand can improve unboxing and customer experience, resulting in building a positive brand image.
In this blog, we’ll dive deep into eCommerce packaging trends to help you stay updated.
Packaging is more than just protecting the product and for transportation. With the eCommerce market getting more crowded, it becomes crucial for brands to grab customers' attention and connect with them in every aspect.
Packaging trends help brands to captivate consumers, communicate brand value, stand out in the crowded market, meet evolving consumer demand and taste, and keep up-to-date with regulations.
Here are seven ecommerce packaging trends-
In recent years, with the rise of concern about the environment, the eCommerce industry has been struggling with sustainability challenges. By using eco-friendly packaging, brands can reduce their carbon footprints, minimize packaging wastage, and appeal to eco-conscious shoppers.
Sustainable packaging can be made using materials that can be recycled, reused, or biodegraded at the end of their life cycle.
In addition, sustainability regulations and laws have become increasingly ambitious, adding another challenge for brands to move towards sustainable packaging.
For example, IKEA has recently replaced all its styrofoam packaging with mushroom packaging - a biodegradable material.
Customized packaging is an incredible and cost-effective method to showcase your brand story, convey the right message, and improve customer experience.
Imagine a customer is making a purchase with your brand for the first time. It arrives at the customer's doorstep, and it’s more than just corrugated cardboard packaging. It is balanced with the right combination of colors, elements, and materials and builds a connection with your customers.
Customized packaging can help you improve brand awareness, deliver a unique unboxing experience, connect better with the customers, get a high conversion rate, and promote your brand on social sites.
For example, the Sleepy Owl’s Hot Brew Coffee Packaging Design grabs customers' attention.
Interactive packaging for your eCommerce is more than just packaging. How?
Have you ever seen any scannable QR code on the packaging design?
It helps your customers to connect with your brand through digital channels and creative designs. Interactive packaging uses design elements such as QR codes, hashtags, and barcodes to link products with the digital world.
In addition, using AR and VR provides new opportunities for brands to connect with customers in a new way, communicate their brand message, and improve the unboxing experience for the customers as well.
For example, KitKat introduced paper-wrapped sustainable packaging, and it has QR code elements that allow customers to share their feedback about the packaging. It helps customers to connect with them.
Flexible packaging is gaining increasing popularity due to its lightweight nature and customizable options.
These are lightweight pouches or bags that are sealed using heat or pressure. For example, ziplock pouches, vacuum pouches, etc., are made up of plastic, paper, films, foils, or polypropylene.
These packaging are flat and can be easily bundled together, saving space for storage. In addition, this packaging requires fewer resources and energy to manufacture, offering a cost-effective and sustainable approach. They offer an extended shelf life and increased protection against contaminants.
For example, Knorr’s soup packages.
The “less is more” approach has become popular and a modern buzzword that showcases simplicity and clarity with less design. It means paring down packaging materials and elements of the design to create a positive customer experience.
These simple and effective designs let your product talk more about them and capture people’s attention. When everything on the shelf looks too complicated and heavily designed, minimalistic design becomes much more noticeable.
In addition, the minimalistic design focuses on the use of one or two materials and fewer elements, making it an eco-friendly approach that can be reusable and recyclable as well.
For example, Nutella grabs customers' eyes with the centered brand name on the white label and a vivid image of the Nutella product.
Mono-material packaging, also known as single-material packaging, refers to packaging composed of a single material or fiber that can be recycled easily, making it cost-effective and environmentally friendly packaging.
These packaging are flexible and come in a wide range of shapes, making them lighter and consuming less material, resulting in less carbon footprint. Common examples of mono-material packaging include PET bottles, HDPE milk jugs, and paper bags.
However, switching to mono-material packaging can be challenging for brands. In some cases, the different materials need to be disconnected before the recycling process.
For example, Nescafe Portugal has switched to mono-material packaging for professionals.
AI is a powerful technology used in every industry, including the packaging industry. It is transforming and all set to redefine packaging design, sustainability, and recycling as well.
Packaging design embraces AI algorithms to analyze vast data, including consumer preferences, trends, guidelines, and packaging appearance, enabling the craft of unique customized packaging designs.
It helps in the A/B testing of your packages at the concept stage and quickly creates more variants to choose from and explore.
In addition, AI is influencing manufacturing as well to detect flaws in packaging materials, minimize wastage, and cost savings.
While packaging trends keep changing every year, Ecommerce brands need to focus on designs that speak with their audience and convey the right message.
In addition, packaging trends can also help Ecommerce brands to stand out from the competition, create a unique and attractive look, and create a unique customer experience.
Customers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of packaging, so make sure your brand focuses on sustainable packaging trends like Minimalistic, Mono-materials, recyclability, reusability, etc.
Still, struggling to attract customers and stand out from your competitors with your packaging?
Our team can help you create the one that tells your story. Do reach out to us at desworks@bizongo.com