Shopping online is great. We get to sit at home, or in our office (I won’t tell…I promise), and shop for things we want and need from the our normal, comfortable environment. We don’t have to drive a car to the store or interact with rude sales clerks. Online shopping really can be a great experience. The problem e-commerce businesses are facing now is how to stand out from other online shops. There are all of these consumers enjoying their online shopping experience and wanting to shop more. This blog post is going to outline specific ways, as an e-commerce business owner, you can package your orders to ensure you stay top of mind and keep your customers running back for more on their next online shopping binge.

1. Use Branded Packaging

Think back to a time when you purchased something from an e-commerce store, and the package arrived in a beautiful, sturdy box with the company’s brand elements printed on the outside. I bet you immediately felt some little butterflies arise in your stomach as the excitement built to open up your package and see what awaited you inside. Branding is all about these feelings your company is able to evoke in your audience. The more you can associate your business with these feelings of happiness and excitement, the more customers will want to interact with you in order to feel this way again. You can elevate your customer’s experience even more by including branded elements inside of your packaging too. For example, you can wrap the contents of the box in tissue paper covered in your brand pattern. (Don’t have a brand pattern? I can help with that.) Adding tissue paper with a custom sticker to add the finishing touch makes it feel like Christmas morning to your customer as they peel away the paper to reveal their surprise order. Little additions to your packaging like this make a huge difference in how customers perceive your brand and even the order they have received.

2. Include Some Type of Freebie

I know exactly what you are thinking… “Bailey, all of this packaging and freebie mess is going to add up really quick. I’m trying to keep my margins.” I understand. I feel your pain. You want to do all of these nice things for your clients, but it can get expensive very quickly. In the end, the return on your investment will be worth it, but I realize it can be hard to front the money before you are able to see the results. I’m going to share with you a few freebie ideas that come at a very low price and can even serve as future marketing for your business. A few of my favorite freebies to send and receive are scrunchies, custom branded stickers, and mini magnets. All of these can be added to orders for less than a dollar a pop when ordered in bulk. If you are able to incorporate your logo or some other identifiable piece of your brand onto these items, they will likely serve as marketing material later, because they are all items that can be shown passively in the public eye. Think about it, young adults love placing stickers on their laptops and tumblers. Moms love placing cute magnets on their fridges (even if it is just being used to hold up a child’s masterpiece.) Scrunchies are functional and cute. If you are able to incorporate your brand into these items, your customers will become your biggest sales people by advertising for you without even trying. Freebies are worth the expense.

3. Custom Thank You Notes

Thank you notes make people feel special. It is as simple as that. You don’t necessarily have to sit down and write a custom thank you note for every single person who purchases from your store, although it wouldn’t hurt, but adding a simple card into your packaging can really bring the whole experience over the top. On the thank you note, it is also smart to include an incentive for your customer to share with others and come back for more. You can do this by adding a note encouraging this behavior, such as “Tag us on Instagram to receive 15% off your next order.” There are many different ways to do this, but offering some type of incentive on the thank you card is a great way of encouraging repeat business.

Your packaging can set you a part from the thousands of other online shops out there. You just need to get into your audience’s hands once, and then you can have them wrapped around your finger for life. The extra cost to make sure their unpackaging experience is one to remember will pay off ten-fold. If you would like to start incorporating these tips into your packaging and need help getting started, comment below. I can help you develop custom brand

Upward and Onward!

Bailey Thibodeaux

Founder of Honeywave Creative