what is frustration-free packaging? How does it help my eCommerce business grow?
what is frustration-free packaging? How does it help my eCommerce business grow?
The ecommerce industry is booming and shows no signs of slowing down.
As more and more consumers turn to online shopping, businesses are scrambling to keep up with demand. One of the challenges faced by businesses is packaging.
Packaging ensures that products arrive safe and sound, so businesses must use high-quality packaging. However, packaging can be expensive, and it can be a hassle to deal with.
That’s where frustration-free packaging comes into play.
But what is frustration-free packaging? How does it help my eCommerce business grow?
First, let's cover some basics.
50% of consumers' biggest frustration with ecommerce was related to the ease of, access to, and disposal of packaging.
Unlike traditional packaging, eCommerce packaging needs to be sustainable and designed efficiently. Unfortunately, eCommerce packaging does not meet this demand as they often use retail packages to save cost.
Frustration-free packaging is designed to combat pollution, reduce overpackaging, and improve customer experience. In addition, it utilizes recyclable material and reduces the use of non-recyclable material, making it environmentally friendly.
If your brand is looking for a way to reduce the amount of packaging waste, frustration-free packaging can be a smart option.
Amazon introduced frustration-free packaging in 2019, intending to reduce packaging waste, fulfillment time, and postage costs.
Here are the guidelines for frustration-free packaging:
The packaging should ensure that the product remains undamaged or minimized damage during transportation from the seller to the Amazon fulfillment center until it reaches the end consumer.
The packaging should be designed in the right size and not contain unnecessary open space that might damage the product. The design should be a proper fit with no more than 2.0” packaging material surrounding the product.
The packaging must consist of reusable material. The packaging should be entirely made of recyclable material, such as corrugated cardboard or other paper-based reusable material. In addition, the printing or processing of the packaging should not affect the recyclability of the packaging.
Nothing is more frustrating than receiving the package and then not being quickly able to get the product inside. The packaging should be easy-to-open and require less use of scissors and a box cutter. It should prohibit rigid plastic clamshells and wire ties that might make the unboxing experience pleasant.
Packaging should be easy to transport from seller to customer without extra protection. It should include barcodes, regulations, and product descriptions to find its way quickly to the customer.
The right-sized package should be lightweight and consume less space during shipment.
Frustration-free packaging can replace traditional packaging with sustainable packaging options that might help improve customers’ opinions of your brand. But that’s not it-
Here are some other benefits of Frustration-free packaging:
Customers may experience frustration whenever they open that over-packed package to get their product, mainly when designers invest in custom design and do not consider the necessity of frustration-free packaging.
Frustration-free packaging means customers will have a happier experience and easier product access. Packaging is designed to simplify the process of unboxing and reaching your product.
Regarding packaging, less is more, both environmentally and sustainably.
You must spend less on packaging materials because you should be using less material. With a reduced packaging size, you decrease the use of material, which also reduces the shipping cost.
As we discussed before, increasing demand for convenience reduces negative impacts such as high shipping rates; the frustration-free design saves products from the deep end of the trash can because it reduces cost and makes life simpler for everyone.
With the right-sized packaging boxes and no use of unnecessary fillers, the carbon footprints that come with manufacturing are reduced.
The packaging materials used are recyclable, making it bio-degradable and eco-friendly. Further, the ink used for printing and other materials, like fillers, are mostly eco-friendly or used less, making the packaging easily recyclable and sorted.
Oversized packages are more likely to get damaged during transit, increasing the cost of return transportation.
With FFP, the package is built inside a rectangle-shaped box to protect the product inside, and the package size is ideally suited to provide less damage and cushion to the product.
In addition, FFP simplifies the process of packaging returns that can be reused for other product packaging.
The frustration-free packaging simplifies and streamlines the manufacturer’s supply chain by eliminating unnecessary material use.
Perfectly sized packaging makes shipping of the product easy in one go. In addition, the perfect design package is easy to handle and carry without getting damaged during transportation.
The packages are perfectly rectangle in shape, providing proper support and ensuring balanced weight, making it easier to stack. Furthermore, it reduces the cost of labor and waste in the supply chain.
Frustration-Free Packaging is incredibly intuitive by Amazon, and many brands are moving towards it. The ultimate goal is to produce environmentally-friendly packages, minimize waste and be cost-effective.
At Bizongo, We design packages that help reduce packaging costs, improve customer experience and supply chain management, and ensure maximum product protection.
We are Desworks, the design arm of Bizongo. We design brands, packaging, products and have delivered 85+ successful projects in the last 5 years of our existence.
Our winning formula for brands, packaging has a mix of aesthetics, functionality, and experience.
We Bizongo Desworks are here to make your (brand, product & packaging) design work.