The biggest touchpoint your eCommerce business has with your customer is at the moment of order delivery. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. They turned into buyers after spending time searching and comparing options. They also made the decision to invest in your brand because you seem to solve their problem best.
To them, your product is a promise, not a package that gets delivered in a box. The customer should celebrate the milestone of taking the risk to trust you virtually and wait for their product to be delivered.
Once you tap into this emotional state of anticipation and overdeliver, you elevate their connection to your brand, promote loyalty and referrals. That’s why you shouldn’t downplay the importance of a great unboxing experience.
What Exactly is an Unboxing Experience?
To understand an unboxing experience, we start with the word unboxing. Unboxing refers to the act of unpacking a box or a package. An unboxing experience is an interaction a customer gets the first time they unbox a product.
This involves carefully selecting the packaging and shipping materials. It also includes paying attention to how your order is presented when it arrives at the customer’s hands.
Today, unboxing experiences are captured and shared on visual social media channels like Pinterest or Instagram. However, its origins go way back to the festive seasons such as Christmas or birthdays. Brands try to evoke the same special aura one gets when they receive a gift.
The Benefits of a Branded Unboxing Experience
We have already addressed what your customers stand to gain from an unboxing experience. Now it’s time to focus on how the perfect unboxing experience sets your eCommerce brand apart.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
Enhances your brand image
A great unboxing experience helps you create a positive and lasting first impression on your customers. This is the only time you can replicate the tangibility provided by brick-and-mortar stores.
Dotcom Distribution states that 45% of customers say that gift-like packaging makes the brand appear more high-end. You can increase perceived value for your brand by ensuring that your unboxing experience is memorable.
Helps your brand tell its story
To stay on top of the game, use the unboxing experience to showcase your uniqueness and get undivided attention. Remember, the sales process doesn’t stop when your customers receive their order, you still want them to keep coming back.
Refining your unboxing experience helps you craft your brand narrative. You provide tangible proof of the values you stand for. A good example is if your business values the environment and offers products that are in that line. It’s good to use packaging materials that sustainable to cultivate the image of having strong ethics and social responsibility.
Drives customer retention
An unboxing experience also serves as a customer retention strategy. It gives you that “wow factor” that encourages customers to make repeat purchases. Studies show that acquiring new customers to your business costs five times more than retaining existing customers.
To build brand loyalty, you have to show your customers that you’re willing to go the extra mile. Investing your time to create a memorable unboxing shows them that your brand values its customers.
Boosts influencer marketing
Unboxing has become a big part of the online shopping experience. It now boasts over 1.6 million videos on YouTube. Unboxing videos range from tech, cosmetics, toys to coffee. According to Google, unboxing videos grow by 57% per year.
Furthermore, a Google Consumer Survey discovered that one in five consumers said they watched an unboxing video before making a purchase. 62% reported that they had viewed unboxing clips when researching a product.
People enjoy sharing great experiences and others enjoy the vicarious pleasure of interacting with something they desire through others. An unboxing experience gives you free marketing that provides exposure for your brand that helps you reach new markets.
How to Create a Memorable Unboxing Experience
Here are some ways to best highlight your product in an unboxing experience.
Leverage branded packaging
Even though plain boxes are cheaper, custom packaging builds brand recognition. Branded boxes offer an eye-catching vibe that spikes interest. However, it tends to be expensive because of the amount of ink required.
If your order sizes are relatively small, consider using branded mailer bags. You could also use customized stickers or customized packaging tape to decorate both the interior and exterior of your box to keep costs low.
Use unique packaging materials
Packaging materials have both aesthetic and practical applications. They help protect fragile products during transit. Packaging material could be air pillows, bubble wrap, shredded paper, or peanuts.
As we mentioned earlier, customers are conscious of the sustainability of your packaging. Using materials that can’t be recycled can make your brand image come off as wasteful and damage your business reputation.
This is why you need to partner with packaging companies that have this consideration. NextSmartShip can offer FSC-certified cartons that are made with degradable environmental materials.
For exterior packaging, NextSmartShip provides corrugated boxes, bubble mailers, poly mailers as well as wooden crates. Interior packaging includes bubble wrap, foam-in-place, air pillows, peanuts, and foam.
Make your product presentation stand out
Consider how the products are organized within the box and make sure it’s aesthetically pleasing and shareable. You’ll need to think about the size and shape of the product as well as the package you’ll be putting it in. Determine whether you’ll need dividers or tissue paper to complete the look.
Surprise and delight your customers
The little touches you add make every unboxing experience unique. Include a discount code on your customer’s next order or a little bag of candy. You could kick it up a notch by adding free samples based on the customer’s purchasing behavior to promote cross-selling.
Handwritten notes add a personal touch to your customer’s order. It communicates to your customers that you value their business and they’re worth the time investment.
Don’t forget to include important inserts
The unboxing experience could also be used to do self-promotion. Add a newsletter or a brochure that highlights your upcoming products. You could include a thank you card that can serve as a bookmark.
Don’t get all caught up trying to make your package ideal and overlook adding important documents such as delivery notes or invoices.
Over to You
Take a moment to think about your unboxing experience. Is your approach specifically tailored for your brand? How can you use branded packaging to increase engagement?
If you’re interested in elevating your brand with an engaging unboxing experience, contact us today to get a custom quote and take care of your order fulfillment needs.
