Importance Of Packaging And Labelling In eCommerce Marketing

Developing your own e-commerce website, spending money on marketing, getting customers to order, shipping, and providing doorstep delivery. Not to forget curating the perfect products to sell. Clearly, you do so much when it comes to running your e-commerce business. But then your customer opens the parcel only to find it not the one they ordered or possibly damaged? Something’s not right here. 
And that is probably due to bad packaging and labelling. 

Read on to know why good packaging and labelling is non-negotiable. 

Why Is It Essential To Invest In Packaging & Labelling In eCommerce

Protection from the weather

In the massive and tropical homeland of India, dynamic weather conditions are something that we can’t escape. From the scorching heat to the severe humidity to the heavy rainfall to the unexpected storm/floods, if your parcel is not packaged well, the effects of il-weather will find their way inside it. More so, perishable commodities can overripe or completely rot due to adverse weather. In fact, it’s worse when fluids involved land up leaking and destroying the customer’s parcel as well their faith in your company. 

Protection from bad roads

Have you ever said “The roads are terrible!” or “The ride here was too rough?”  Potholes, long signals, overcrowded streets and smoke from vehicles make journeys difficult. And the truth of the matter is that, if you go through this, so does your package. Because at the end of the day, most of the shipment trucks and delivery men use the same roads as us. Now imagine your customer opening their much-anticipated parcel only to see it damaged! Clearly, a huge waste of effort on your part and not to forget, the loss of a possibly loyal customer. Sturdy packaging that can withstand the numerous bumps on the road and the possible falling of boxes will ensure that your product stays intact. 

Attracts the customer

Manufacturers tend to put their products in fancy packaging, not just for safety reasons, but also to catch their customer’s eye that is wandering along with the store. Since your products are sold online, this shouldn’t be a problem. But even the most popular online marketplaces are heavily crowded these days. So when a person searches for your product, they will also be shown the same product by other companies that can be tough to outrun with poor packing. As a matter of fact, even if you’re selling your products from your own website, good packaging is mandatory. Attractive packaging & Labeling automatically gets people to look at your product. And once you’ve achieved the first step, informative labelling is what will keep them invested enough to buy your product. 

Sets a brand identity

Before you reach the packaging stage of your business, you’ve probably gone through the identity stage of creating your logo and finalizing your brand’s colours. So when it comes to packing, why not use it to further your brand’s identity? Just like the bright red and silver tin cans of Coca Cola, the sea-green label of Bisleri, the bright yellow carton of Frooti, and the red food boxes of McDonald’s, even your packaging can create an identity for you in your consumers’ minds.  

Lives up to social media validation

The social media culture has made consumers even more conscious as to what they purchase. With shopping hauls being uploaded every other day and bloggers promoting products on their page, poor packaging is simply unacceptable. And if you’re in the gifting space, packaging can make or break your business. People are on the lookout for hassle-free gifts. Gifts that they won’t have to wrap once again. This is where fancy packaging can make them choose your product over your competitors. More so, if you’re in the food business space, people think twice before putting something on their kitchen shelves, let alone consume it. So you have to make sure that packaging is ‘good-looking’ to rest on your customers’ kitchen cabinet. 

Complements advertising effort/ provides brand reinforcement

You spend lakhs of rupees on advertising and marketing. And good packaging is what will greatly help your efforts yield better results. For example, Every ad for McDonald’s ends with their bright yellow logo on a red backdrop. Now when people see others eating from a McDonald’s food package, they see the bright yellow logo with the red backdrop and are once again reminded of the brand. Indeed a classic example of your package saving you advertising cost as well your brand getting space in your consumer’s mind. Please note that the brand colours play a big role in the packaging. Therefore, it is advised to establish and incorporate fixed brand colours in all your advertising platforms and packaging. 

Protection in other modes of transit

When your parcel is crossing the seas for days in a heavy container placed on a merchant ship, not having your products packaged properly is a deal-breaker. Delays in shipment by water are common. So ensure that your packages seal your products well, making them withstand the harsh weather and long commute. Also, if your products involve chemicals or some form of them, airtight packaging is essential to ensure that they don’t leak into the water causing harm to the environment in the event of unforeseen problems. Coming to air transport, just like our bags on a vacation, even containers of shipment get left behind at the airport for days sometimes. There is also the chance of your parcel getting interchanged with another one or worst case scenario returning to you after months. One of the things that help here is sturdy and airtight packaging that can at least protect your product from getting damaged. Secondly, with the label still on it and a completely visible return address, you can be more hopeful that your parcel will be returned to you. Thereby, facilitating order tracking. 

Protection from other packages

More often than not, you will notice your products being shipped in a container/truck/flight cargo along with products of multiple other companies. So in case, your product is fragile and not properly packaged, it is likely to get damaged by stacked and stronger packages around it. 

Easier tracking

Labels on packages often include the barcode of the product which can be scanned by the shipping company or delivery personnel to know the contents of the package as well as track the company and its return address. 

Less hassle with transit officers

In terms of international shipping and inter-state transport, your package has to be processed by the relevant authorities. Good labelling allows them to do so faster and reduces your customer’s waiting time when expecting a delivery. 

Provides a premium shopping experience

E-commerce shopping has become well-known for being a place to get good deals. Fancy packaging makes the product look more expensive, making the customer feel really good for having purchased it even on a discount on your website. Good packaging makes them know that you genuinely care about them and have gone out of the way to make sure that the product reaches them in perfect condition. 

Less chances of wrong delivery

While the packaging is essential, labelling is what will make your shipment reach the right destination. Large and broad labels with dark ink and big fonts enable delivery personnel to find addresses faster and not disturb the customer for directions. 

Less confusion for customers

It ever so often happens that the customer isn’t home to accept the delivery. This is when labelling saves the day. Because then even leaving the parcel with the building security ensures that it reaches the customer’s hands. 

More clarity for customers

A label should include everything from the exact order number, quantity and item name to the shipping address, return address, mode of payment and full paying price. When customers see this, it allows them to easily recollect the details of an order that they probably placed a few days ago.  It also allows them the freedom to open their package at their own time and not in a hurry because they are well aware of the contents inside. But that never really happens, does it? 

Conclusion

It is safe to say that good packaging and labelling protect your products and also ensure that they reach the right customer at the right time. While we won’t underestimate the importance of fancy packaging, we recommend doubling it up with a good old brown package that can withstand rough conditions. And yes, the extra taping, cushioning with airbags and cardboard definitely ups the cost, but it is essential to give the customer a safe, secure and tamper-proof delivery.