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Future of Paperboard
Optimise, don’t overpackage
E-commerce packaging operations are developing. They now focus on cost-effectiveness and packaging solutions with a lower environmental impact.
Elina Hovinen, photos: Metsä Group and Metsä Board
O nline shopping has become an established part of our everyday lives. The sector has grown enormously, and more packages are being shipped than ever. Major trends in the field include us- ing packaging that serves its purpose, offering protec- tion for the product while not wasting space or using excessive packaging materials. Even more personalised packages and making better use of the marketing po- tential will come next. Last year, around 20 per cent of the world’s retail sales already took place online. China is a forerunner in e-commerce: more than 45 per cent of all retail trade is handled online there. In Western Europe, e-commerce accounts for approximately 13 per cent, and in the Unit- ed States, about 15 per cent.* “E-commerce growth was already surging before the pandemic and peaked during it. Such growth rates may not occur again. The growth slowed down in 2022, when consumers returned to brick-and-mor- tar shops. The slowdown has been particularly visible in Europe, where high inflation and economic uncer- tainty has reduced consumers, willingness to spend,” says Anna Keinänen , Market Intelligence Manager, Metsä Board. Online retailing is expected to rebound when the economy improves and will grow at a faster rate than
offline retailing. Online shopping is heavily reflected in the packaging industry. Compared with packages at brick-and-mortar shops, e-commerce packages have a longer supply chain with more logistical touchpoints, requiring packages to be much more durable. Solutions to overpackaging Overpackaging is the greatest challenge in the e-com- merce industry. It results from the intention to ensure that the product arrives at its destination intact. Iiro Numminen , packaging designer at Metsä Board, de- scribes its background: “When e-commerce became common, packages de- signed as on-the-shelf packages were repackaged for shipping. The on-the-shelf packages were never de- signed for shipping, so they were protected by new packaging.” Previous packaging solutions also contributed to over- packaging. Only packages of specific sizes were avail- able, from which the most suitable option had to be selected – there was no customisation. Using an exces- sively large package not only causes extra waste and costs: transporting empty space causes unnecessary emissions because the oversized packages take space from other packages in the logistics chain. The prob- lem and the emissions are multiplied.
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