From simple cardboard boxes – to smart boxes and designer packaging haute couture: with the rapid development of e-commerce and the segment of postal shipments, one of the key roles in trade began to play the “clothing” for products. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the last few years, the production of packaging materials has experienced a real “boom”, and the design solutions and appearance of the packaging continue to evolve rapidly.
How does the design and quality of packaging affect the positioning of brands? Why is successful packaging able to not only increase sales, but also optimize costs in the field of online trade? And what innovations will the packaging manufacturers offer on this market in 2024? Told the deputy director of the department of sales of cardboard and packaging of Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill Andriy Rebro.
This enterprise, whose capacities are concentrated in the capital region, in the city of Obukhiv, is a part of the Austrian holding Pulp Mill Holding GmbH and one of the largest Eastern European manufacturers of cardboard and paper products, packaging solutions and sanitary and hygienic products.
So, why in the modern world has packaging turned from a secondary factor into a key factor of success in the field of e-commerce?
Packaging plays one of the most important roles in online sales. Nowadays, it is not enough for the manufacturer to simply produce the product and create an online store for its sale, because the product still needs to be delivered intact and undamaged to the end consumer. Therefore, quality packaging has always been an important factor in commerce.
Because, as it turned out, under equal conditions (approximately the same prices, quality, assortment of products), the only field where sellers can compete is the packaging itself, its branding, construction, design. That is, the final success depends on the convenience, safety, timeliness of delivery of the product.
Ukraine is just beginning to implement packaging trends that have been defining the development of the market in Europe for several years. For a long time, in our country, suppliers had no alternative to ordinary cardboard boxes, which were taped before transportation. They got used to such packaging, and there was no demand for innovations until recently, because neither sellers nor postal operators even realized this need.
However, the imaginary savings on packaging actually turned out for merchants a significant percentage of product losses (for example, breaking glass bottles with alcoholic beverages), additional costs for protective materials and inserts, the formation of a large amount of waste and, ultimately, dissatisfied customers.
How does packaging optimization help increase online sales conversion and minimize order processing time?
In the world, over the last few years, innovations aimed at saving material – both the main one, which is used directly in the production of packaging, and the auxiliary one, which is used to protect it during transportation, have been actively implemented. This problem was solved from the perspective of reducing both economic costs and environmental damage.
In e-commerce, several key segments are distinguished – these are clothing, electronics, books, perfumes and household chemicals, food, alcohol. And for each of these groups of products, special, adapted packaging is used. At the same time, in the civilized world, they are moving away from the use of polymer film and tape in favor of more environmentally friendly materials – cardboard and corrugated cardboard, as well as tear-off tapes and permanent adhesive.
Such a change in design allows not only to minimize the negative impact on the environment, reduce by 99% the losses of fragile cargo during transportation, but also to reduce the costs of returning goods without additional inconvenience and expenses. In our practice, such solutions have already been successfully implemented for companies Nova Poshta, Meest Post, LLC RUSH (TM EVA), LLC Profitable Purchase (TM AVRORA) and others.
Can packaging increase the capabilities of an online merchant without increasing operational costs?
Of course. An important point that shaped the modern European trends in the production of packaging is the reduction of time and human resources costs for packaging. The coronavirus pandemic caused a “boom” in e-commerce, the number of orders increased significantly, and there was a shortage of staff to service them. Therefore, the issue of increasing the efficiency of operational processes came to the fore.
For example, in the online store Exist.Ua, after implementing the packaging we proposed in the format of commerce box, the order processing capacity doubled. This allowed the company to refuse to hire additional staff and increase work efficiency.
Can packaging transform into an advertising space without additional costs and increase the efficiency of cross-selling?
Yes, the external packaging of any product is actually a ready-made monitor for positioning brands and conveying information. For example, “Nova Poshta” to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine placed the slogan “Pack the sky” on their boxes. Thus, a part of the funds from each packaging for transporting goods from this series went to the purchase of drones for the army.
Similarly, advertising of any product or manufacturer can be placed. Thus, such a cross-sell allows the postal operator to receive additional income without increasing the marketing budget by a single hryvnia.
How does packaging affect the value of the product for the end consumer and help avoid damage during transportation?
Another popular global trend is the orientation to the convenience for the customer at every stage, from packaging to unpacking the product. Because in e-commerce, all the costs ultimately fall on the end consumer, and, as practice shows, he is willing to pay more if he is completely satisfied with the purchase process. That is, when the product arrived on time, intact, complete and, importantly, in a convenient and beautiful packaging.
It is noteworthy that in Ukraine, the development of e-commerce began with the sale of electronic gadgets. And for a long time, this segment remained №1 – only recently it began to be displaced from the first positions by products for children, clothing, household chemicals, cosmetics, etc. Quite often, such products were bought by customers not for themselves, but as gifts.
But the companies-sellers, at best, put them in an additional external box, in most cases – sent to the customer in the “native” packaging, which was not adapted to the harsh conditions of sorting and transportation by postal operators. In most cases, they were simply wrapped in black polymer film and tape. The probability of damage to such a package reached 50%. Of course, the use of commerce box reduced these risks to a minimum and reduced the potential number of complaints.
How to choose packaging for products that can easily get damaged? What are the innovations and specialized solutions for certain types of products?
The most common type of packaging for products purchased online in the world is the packaging called easy box. This format allows you to quickly assemble the packaging by using a self-assembling bottom with protection from external access and seal it with a PSA adhesive strip. To open such a package, a tear-off tape is used.
However, in the segment of selling alcoholic beverages, due to the variety of shapes of glass containers, there were requests for the development of more individual solutions. Therefore, Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill has identified several optimal types of packaging – for wine bottles, sparkling, any other drinks, etc.
For cases where it comes to a non-trivial shape, or when the buyer orders two or three bottles of different drinks at once, the designers of KCPM offer a development that has already proven itself in world practice. This is a universal packaging solution that guarantees that any set of bottles will reach the consumer intact and undamaged. And there is another purely rational argument in favor of this packaging: if you consider these orders as separate packages, the price difference is leveled. Thus, this innovation turns out to be beneficial for both parties, no matter how you twist it.
Similarly, the plant developed and a general format of the container for beer, which is equally suitable for tin cans of different shapes and sizes.
Moreover, the inner capsule of such a box can be made colorful by means of modern printing, put on it the logo of the manufacturer, inscriptions, etc. At the moment, this is the last wave of packaging “fashion”, which only reaches Ukraine, but has already gained popularity in the world.
It is worth noting that the new design ideas from Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill are not limited to packaging for drinks. In particular, we have developed and successfully implemented packaging solutions for sending books purchased in online stores.
Good packaging increases the effectiveness of the advertising campaign and creates a ‘wow’ effect for customers, right?
Indeed, packaging affects the perception of the product and the seller. Agree, having received a rather expensive shipment (for example, a phone for 15-20 thousand UAH) in black polyethylene, the buyer understands: the store saves on its own customers. And vice versa, if the product arrives packed conveniently and beautifully, a feeling of respect and trust for the brand is formed, which truly values its consumers. On the wave of positive emotions, the buyer has a desire to make a repeat order.
This is a somewhat “viral” phenomenon. When one online service starts using beautiful, branded packaging, and it causes a kind of wow-effect in customers, its competitors start to imitate it. In turn, manufacturers can make certain discounts for such online stores, seeing that the quality of packaging matches the values of their brands.
Moreover, the reliability of packaging and loyalty to the brand indirectly affects the choice of payment method for the product. If the buyer is confident that he will receive the order on time and without damage, he may be more inclined to prepay the product. Which, of course, is beneficial to the supplier. However, the real effect of this factor can be properly assessed when the use of the new packaging format becomes a mass phenomenon. At the moment we are ready for this.
There is an opinion that the development of packaging for online commerce, especially against the backdrop of war, is currently irrelevant. What do you think, are innovations in corrugated packaging necessary in this direction?
Definitely. Representatives of the domestic business are just beginning to realize that the packaging of the new generation in the field of e-commerce carries many additional functions and is a profitable solution for all parties – the manufacturer, the retailer, the transport company and the recipient. However, undoubtedly, this is the direction – the future of the cardboard and paper industry.
Press service of the Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill
corruga.expert
