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“In e-commerce, the pack- age is the best marketing tool. It’s therefore impor- tant to create a memorable unboxing experience for the consumer,” says Metsä Board’s Market Intelligence Manager Anna Keinänen.
“The shipping package for e-commerce needs to be de- signed so that the logistics guys can play football with it without any damage to the product,” Numminen says with a grin. The designer has a great responsibility, and their work has an impact until the end of the package’s life-cycle. In addition to the material, the designer needs to take functions related to product returns into account while keeping in mind that the package should impress con- sumers. From the consumers’ perspective, the package should be easy to recycle and enable the effortless return of the product. “If the package is made of a single material, it is easi- er to recycle than when it contains multiple materials,” Keinänen says. Package advertising is effective Keinänen emphasises that minimising packaging’s en- vironmental impact is key because consumers demand and expect it. “It’s our obligation to consider this.”
The package also needs to be visually appealing and impressive to the recipient. “In e-commerce, the package is the best marketing tool. The package is often the consumer’s first touch- point with the product and the brand. It is therefore important to create a memorable unboxing experience for the consumer. Customers who are satisfied and have had a great unboxing experience are more likely to buy from the same online shop again or even recommend the product or post unboxing videos on social media,” Keinänen says. She refers to a survey by Kantar** which shows that third-party advertising included in an e-commerce package is 4.1 times more effective than traditional me- dia campaigns. This is an underutilised marketing chan- nel. E-commerce advertising has huge potential because much more information can be collected from online customers, enabling more effective marketing activities. The role of smart packaging is growing. For example, augmented reality offers the packaging completely new dimensions to enhance the customer experience with digital content like videos and interactive games.•
* eMarketer, June 2023 ** Kantar analysis of Amazon Ads’ on-box/on-bag campaigns that ran between Q4 2020 and Q1 2022
Anna Keinänen Market Intelligence Manager, Metsä Board
Iiro Numminen Structural Packaging Designer, Metsä Board
Kari Järvinen Managing Director, Jomet
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