When starting an e-commerce business or starting to sell products online, whether through your own website or on a shared selling site such as Amazon or Etsy, there are a lot of things to consider. When shipping your products, it’s essential they are packaged in a way that allows them to safely ship to your consumer. It’s also important, for aesthetics and branding purposes, to have packaging on the product itself. Start exploring the differences in primary and secondary packaging for your business.
Primary Packaging
Primary packaging is what the consumer focuses on. It’s meant to be attractive, informative, and showcase your brand. Primary packaging is designed with branding and lifetime value of customers in mind.
It should be designed for aesthetics, but also serve a purpose. An example of primary packaging is a box of cereal. The box the cereal bag is placed is in considered primary packaging; it’s what the consumer sees while they’re deciding whether to purchase the cereal.
It helps inform consumers about necessary product details, from nutrition facts to directions for related recipes using the same material. The usefulness of real estate on product packaging is endless.
To design the right primary packaging for your business, consider your brand and what your ideal target marketing cares about. Highlight their main touchpoints wherever you can to appeal to more customers.
Secondary Packaging
Don’t be fooled by the name “secondary.” Secondary packaging is essential to the e-commerce arena. It’s is the part of packaging that customers often don’t see or think about—but it’s essential you do. It is what protects products during the course of the shipment process.
Shipping can get rough, regardless if you ship direct to consumer or to a distribution center or storefront. Product damage during transport is one of the biggest capital losses in e-commerce businesses and product-based businesses.
Secondary packaging is always changing, so it’s essential to keep up with emerging trends in the industry, such as new technologies and innovations. This will help keep your operation running smoothly and cut down on product damage, so your products always arrive to the consumer in perfect condition.
Some examples of secondary packaging are listed below.
- Packing peanuts
- Large boxes
- Pallets
- Stretch wrap
- Cases
- Shrink wrap
- Filler
- Bubble wrap
- Plastic air pouches
There are so many different types of secondary packaging to choose from. The most important thing to remember when it comes to this is the safety of your products. Consider the type of transportation (land, sea, or air) and the distance most packages travel.
After exploring the differences in primary and secondary packaging you may be ready to upgrade your product-based e-commerce business. Improved shipping methods, nice primary packaging, and more all contribute to your reviews, ratings, and overall brand image. All three of these things are essential to growing your business to its full potential.