Ecommerce Packaging: How to Prevent Product Loss

Have you ever had a package arrive and find that something is missing? It's no fun, and it happens to everyone. One of the easiest ways to protect your products from loss during shipment is with ecommerce packaging. In the world of ecommerce, it is important to do everything you can to protect your product from loss. Whether this is by shipping quickly or with careful packaging, there are many ways that a business can reduce its chances of losing revenue due to product damage. Below are ways of preventing product loss through ecommerce packaging.

Using the appropriate type of packaging

When you are purchasing packaging, it can be tempting just to use the cheapest option. Doing so, however, doesn't account for the volume of product that your business is sending out or how fragile it might be. The wrong type of package can subject your products to unnecessary damage and loss. Packages that are made with high-quality materials often provide the best protection.

Taking the time to pick out strong, resilient materials can help prevent damage during shipment. Using too much packaging material, such as bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts, can lead to waste that doesn't help protect your goods. 

Find the right-sized packaging for all your products

Choosing too much or too little packaging can reduce the protection that your product receives in transit. When selecting the right size and shape for your ecommerce packaging, it is important to consider the weight of each package, the dimensions of your products, and the fragility of your goods (how fragile are they?). Using an excessively large package to ship a light product will not only waste money on the packaging itself, but it could also subject your product to more damage in transit if it is moved around too much. 

Ensure shipments are properly labeled

In ecommerce it is vital that you have a system in place when it comes to shipping your products. One of the easiest ways to ensure that packages don't get lost in transit is labeling them properly. In addition, utilizing a unique identifier for each unique product or batch of products can help you track items even if they are sent separately. 

Get shipping insurance

In the event that a package does arrive with damage to your product, it is important to have an insurance policy in place. Shipping insurance can help reimburse you for damaged goods during transit and provide coverage against theft or loss of product if a package does not arrive at its destination. It is worth noting that the cost of shipping insurance may be greater than the actual cost of your product, but it can help you avoid large losses if something happens to go wrong.

Rely on sustainable packaging

Once you are aware of the damages that can happen during transit, it is important to reduce your chance of loss by using sustainable packaging. Packaging made from recycled materials, biodegradable plastics, and other materials can not only protect your product but also help keep waste out of landfills. We have seen continued growth in eco-friendly packaging options for the last decade. Businesses that continue to improve their packaging to create a sustainable system can help move us in the right direction when it comes to protecting our planet and its resources.

The above tips are simple ways that you can utilize when working to prevent package loss during shipment. Ecommerce packaging doesn't have to be difficult, and these ideas provide a good place for any business to get started with protecting their goods.

Importance Of Custom Product Packaging For Your Business

The impact of custom product packaging can be significant, given that you designed and tweaked it right. Even though custom product packaging may seem like a major investment upfront, it can return big, especially if you are an e-commerce brand. With the help of product packaging, you can encourage your customers to choose your brand for the future. Even better, they may start sharing the delivery of your product over social media.

With e-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay claiming a significant market share, it becomes necessary for a small brand to create attractive packaging designs to show up in the consumers’ radars.

Subscription box industry

Product packaging design holds a key value in the subscription box industry. According to Mckinsey and Company, subscription boxes retain a significant appeal for young people who look for convenience and personalization when buying what they need.

The ages of subscribers range from 25 to 44 years, and they usually reside in the northeastern US urban areas. Their monthly incomes range between $50,000 and $100,000.

Several big companies such as Wal-Mart, Amazon, Lancome, and Sephora have also jumped on the subscription box bandwagon.

The impact of custom product packaging

How your custom product packaging impacts your customers determines the next step they take on your brand. Here are some numbers and stats to prove that the best appearance of your product packaging will contribute to increased sales.

• According to a 2013 E-commerce Packaging Survey report, about 40% of consumers are likely to share the picture of a good-looking product packaging over social media.
• A plain-looking or sloppy box will contribute to a reduction in your sales. About 78% of online customers will trust a brand that takes a fair bit of time to custom design the packaging for their products.
• According to a Facebook poll, 84% will more likely to buy a product with premium packaging. However, 16% say that the packaging doesn’t really matter.

Keeping up with your customer

Customers have every right to buy, or not to buy, a product. That means if you want to increase your sales, you have to convince your customers. It is possible only by keeping up with your customers.

• The Flexible Packaging Association’s 2015 Brand Value Study suggests that 80% of brand owners acknowledge the positive influence of the product packaging.
• Businesses using premium packaging enjoy a 30% increase in consumer interest in their brands.
• According to the MidAtlantic Packaging, 59% of shoppers under the age of 45 consider chic packaging as the top-ranked selling point.

Sustainable packaging

The appearance of your packaging is not everything your customers care about. The possible impact of its materials on the environment can make or break your sales.

A 2018 State of the Packaging Industry Report says that 57% of consumers cared about the sustainability and recyclability of their purchased products. The same report shows that 60% of respondent companies are shifting to sustainable packaging practices.

Remember, a successful custom product packaging benefits the business, market, and customers in several dimensions. You have to look at your packaging approach from different angles to make sure you move in the correct direction.

Winning Customer Loyalty With Custom Subscription Boxes

The concept of online shopping was not much prevalent a decade ago. The rise of the internet and social media has changed the way people shop. No matter what product you want, you can buy it online. Many brands accept orders online and dispatch products based on those orders.

If you are an online business, you have to keep in mind that your inability to meet your customers makes it even more necessary to get creative with the brand-building process.

The subscription box industry

The concept of subscription boxes was nonexistent until five years ago. However, with the market growing up to 890% in 2014, large and small businesses had to use creative methods to address their consumers’ requirements. One of those creative methods is selling subscription boxes.

In 2018, there were around 3,500 subscription box services operating in the US. The growing number of subscription services led to the introduction of the new term “subscription economy”. The number of these services continues to grow with the growth of digital buyers.

Why do customers subscribe?

The answer to 'why customers subscribe' lies in the types of subscription services. Three types of services are curation, replenishment, and access.

Curation is the most popular subscription service, with 55% of subscription box customers choosing this option. With the help of this option, customers get new products that match their preferences. Products range from clothing to cosmetics to beauty items.

Replenishment services comprise 32% of the e-commerce subscription market. This area deals with the same monthly items.

Subscribers of Access-based subscription services make 13% of the respective market. Those subscribers pay a monthly fee to get member-only perks, particularly in the apparel and food categories.

According to some reports, 60% of subscribers are women. However, men usually acquire more multiple subscriptions at a time.

Why do customers might lose interest?

Subscribers may choose to cancel their subscription services for several reasons. Some of those reasons are the following.

• They do not consider the box as something essential.
• They do not get what they are expecting.
• The box is usually overpriced.

Some reports suggest that customers are not too concerned about the price. Instead, they expect a better experience every time they get a box.

What do customers look for?

In this case, it is not just about what is inside the box. According to most brands and marketers, the overall experience matters as much as the contents inside the box. The purpose is to keep the customers engaged.

According to a market research company Global Web Index, the number of conscious consumers has risen significantly. 61% of those consumers said that they were more than willing to pay for a service that promises the environmental benefit with its product packaging.

Paying attention to the packaging

The packaging holds as much value as the product inside it. That is especially true for e-commerce subscription boxes. Your customers want to be valued, and there is no better way to ensure it than customizing your product packaging. It also includes assuring your customers that your product packaging is not detrimental to the environment.

Worst Time To Buy A House

Well I have the absolute worst luck in the world right now. Recently, I got a really nice job offer from a company out in California. Now normally, being from the midwest, California is the absolute last place that I would ever want to move to. California is notoriously where the scum of American resides, and has perhaps the highest cost of living other than places like Washington D.C. and New York City. Well, the problem was that this isn’t just some run-of-the-mill job offer that can easily be turned down. This job offer was from basically my dream company to work as my dream job. In my profession, this company is where people go who are the best of the best. Like basically, if you’ve made it to this company, you have basically made it in life. That means that I had to think long and hard about turning this offer down, and ultimately I decided that I would move out of Indiana and venture over to California and face the problems that will come. This job is just not something that I can turn down; plus, I can always move back to the midwest down the road if things don’t work out in California or work out with the new company I’ll be working at. So now I have to start the worst process that absolutely everyone hates: moving.

That’s right, I have to pack up my entire apartment and move to California by myself. Not only is moving hard when you’re on your own, but trying to buy a house or apartment right now is like slamming your head in the door of a car. I mean, houses are going like hotcakes all over the country, and California is especially bad. So basically, I’ve determined I’ll be paying about 30% more for whatever place I buy than what I would have 3 years ago. This is super annoying and a great inconvenience, but I suppose it could be worse. The good part is that my starting salary at my new job is way higher than what I’m making right now, so I’ll be able to afford quite a bit more for myself than what I would at my current job. And I have faith that everything will workout, even if things don’t look particularly good at the moment. 

The annoying part about this whole thing is that I have absolutely no motivation whatsoever to start packing all my stuff. I already ordered some big collapsable shipping boxes online that I will use to start packing my stuff. To be honey, though, I feel like I won’t have the motivation to pack even when those shipping boxes get here. California is also going through one of the hottest heat waves on record at the moment, and I am not feeling particularly excited about being a part of that. All in all I still think I am excited to get going and start my new job, but I’m not super excited about the moving process in general. I think I will be hiring a moving company since I’m having to do this all on my own - there is no way that I would be able to get all of my stuff packed up and moved over to California all by myself.

How to Choose Between Single-Wound Shrink Film VS Centerfold Shrink Film

If you ever have to choose a type of shrink film for your company’s packaging needs, this article will help you choose what to purchase. After your research on the internet you have learned there are two common types of shrink film. Single-wound and centerfold shrink films.

 The goal of this article is to provide you with the best information about these two types of shrink films so you can make an informed decision. There will be a different factors to consider before making your choice. What are the capabilities of your machine, are there any production or quality guidelines to follow, and what is the desired appearance of the product?

What is single-wound shrink film?

 The single-wound shrink film is frequently used in the packaging of numerous kinds of consumer goods. The film can be purchased on a flat sheet wrapped around a cardboard core. Another name for single-wound film is flat or single-layer films. There are different sizes of single-wound films available in the commercial markets. The choices include 35 gauge to 150 gauge. The length of the roll will determine the gauge of the film. The choices for length include 3,500 to 15,000 feet. The different widths available range from 6 inches to 58 inches.

 The different applications for the single-wound shrink film range from side sealers to L-bar sealers. The use of the single-wound shrink film in the sealer will involve the machine placing the three seals on the trailing edge, leading edge, and one of the sides. The lap seal uses static or electric sealing to hold together the multiple overlapping layers. 

What is centerfold shrink film?

 The centerfold shrink film receives its name because of the way it is formed on the roll. The centerfold film is folded in half lengthwise and then formed onto the roll. When this film is utilized it will unfold from a 20 inch width to a 40 inch unfolded width. There are different sizes of centerfold films available in the commercial markets. The choices include 35 gauge to 150 gauge. The length of the roll will determine the gauge of the film. The choices for length include 1,750 to 8.750 feet. The different widths available range from 6 inches to 58 inches.

 The different applications for the centerfold shrink film range from side sealers to L-bar sealers to a tabletop machine. The use of the centerfold shrink film in the sealer will involve the machine sealing the front, the sides, and the back of the film before entering the heat tunnel. Depending on the needs of your company, the shrink film can be purchased in either full pallet load quantities or individual rolls of centerfold shrink film.

 The last factor to consider before you decide, is how do you want your product to look on the shelf in the store? This is dependent on where the machine places the seal on the shrink film. Do you want the seal to show or be hidden? If you want a lap seal then the single-wound film will be what you want. If you want a three-sided seal then you can choose either centerfold or single-wound shrink film. After reading this article, we hope this information has been helpful in the decision between centerfold shrink film or single-wound shrink film. 

Tips for Moving Houses

If you clicked on this article, it means it is probably moving time for you in the near future. Hey, we’ve all been there. I have had several significant moves in my life, and each one added a whole lot of stress to my life. Not only that, I felt like I did not have a lot of knowledge about the ins and outs of moving at the time and therefore struggled to work around smaller issues and such. I wanted to take the time to create this short article talking about moving and how you can do a few simple things to make the whole process a lot smoother. I hope this information is helpful to you!

First off, it is important to think about packing. Packing is hard, especially when you have to pick up your entire life and move it somewhere else. Packing is made even more difficult by the fact that you are packing things you use in your everyday life. Coming up with a packing schedule is super helpful in this way. It’s important to know what items you are going to have to pack and when; that way, you can plan ahead in advance which things are going to be packed last. Let’s say, you use your blender and tea kettle every morning at breakfast. This is a good example of something that should probably be packed last, but you definitely need to remember to pack them. Coming up with a schedule and list for packing is really important in this way! Another tip is that you will need lots of packing supplies and materials. Large shipping boxes work great for clothes, blankets, and other various items. Shipping boxes, preferably some sort of cardboard, will hopefully keep your items safe and secure while you’re moving. 

Another tip is to make sure you make a moving budget. Moving is expensive, especially when factoring in the price of a moving company, different supplies, travel costs, transportation, and all these other things. It adds up quickly! Especially if you are transitioning to a new job, finances can be a huge stress at this stage of life. My suggestion is that you come up with a realistic moving budget, and then do everything in your power to stay under that budget. This will obviously differ from person to person or family to family, but if you have a financial planner or mentor of some kind it may be helpful to get into contact with him or her.

A final tip that I have is to hire a moving company if you can afford it. It is definitely possible to do all the moving yourself, but this adds a whole lot of unnecessary stress onto you and can be extremely time consuming. Instead, given that it fits your budget, it may be beneficial to hire a team of movers that can assist with the loading and transportation of your belongings. You should note that not all moving companies are a great service, so it’s important to do some research beforehand to know what you’re getting into. Feel free to get quotes from a couple different places, compare prices, reviews, and certifications to make sure you are getting the best deal you can find. As long as you’re staying under budget! Hope this helps!

Alternatives to Plastic to Try

If you’re looking at this, chances are you’ve heard of the plastic packaging tax that’s being brough to the UK. It was started on April 1st, 2022, and it’s something that causes those who use plastic to be charged a $200 fine for every ton of this. Even if you don’t make plastic, there is a chance that you’ll see this rise. This is in place for a reason. Typically, plastic takes a long time to break down, with plenty of animals killed every single year because of this, due to starvation and engagement, because of that, there are some people who wat to change his, and since there are microplastics which have been found in the blood of humans, it can cause cell damage as well. Between the growing costs and even consumer concern, there are a few reasons why people may not want to use plastic. So let’s look at the alternatives, shall we? 

Recycled Kinds 

The other obvious one is recycled packages, which is something that’s made from recycled material. There are some kinds of boxes that go up to 100% recycled, and it’s the best in eco-friendly packaging. The problem with this, however, is that it can be a little bit more expensive, but it definitely is something that pays in the long run. You can get single-walled types of make it more durable and compact, and you can also leave out the tape if you want to reduce your costs. They’re compostable, biodegradable, and recyclable. 

There are also book wrap mailers that are made out of totally recycled paper. They do come with a simplistic and effective means to protect everything as it goes into transit, and it has a multi-depth feature that offers a wide range of different products and measurements. Should customers want to return these, they can use the same packaging as well, and you don’t even need to use seals to adhere it. 

Compostable kinds 

What is the next step past recycled packaging? Compostable of course! The PPT doesn’t include anything that’s compostable in the rules, so what that means is that you will not be punished with this, and it reduces plastic consumption. You can get mailing bags which are compostable. they won’t be around forever and are great for small items including clothes and whatnot. 

The cool thing about these bags is you can put them in the ground, and they biodegrade within less than a year.  It can take minimally 3 months for it to get broken down. It not only cuts your costs so you’re not paying extreme taxes, but you’re also helping the world, so that’s indeed a no brainer. 

Most of these bags are made with cornstarch, so they can be composted, and are biodegradable. If you’re selling foodstuffs, there are now paper kraft sandwich bags, so you can use this, and it’s plant-based that lets you have customers that look at the contents that are in there. 

The PLA stands for polylactic acid, which is made from a renewable resource, including sugarcane and cornstarch, and this is something that’s a natural polymer, so you can compose this commercially. PLA packaging is great because it creates 65% less usage of energy compared to plastic, and it also emits far fewer greenhouse gases, and it does offer a variety of different options, so you can be green and clean. 

Biodegradable 

Biodegradable is different, as this is something that is made from materials that literally degrade with time. this is great because you can use it immediately, and it’s something that isn’t the same as compostable.