E-commerce has changed the face of retail forever and its landscape keeps on reinventing itself. The changing dynamics of e-commerce packaging have played a vital role to meet the needs of consumers.
Whether you have just started your e-commerce business, you need to always consider some factors to keep your business running successfully. Here, in this blog, we are going to discuss some essential packaging materials that e-commerce retailers should always keep.
Right-Sized Corrugated Boxes
If you want to keep the shipping cost low and reduce wastage, it is important to pack your products according to the size, weight, and shape of the product. Corrugated boxes are very strong, versatile, sturdy, and come in different sizes. You just choose the right-sized corrugated boxes to ensure the product’s safe delivery to your customers.
Bubble Mailers
You can pack small things like books and clothes in bubble mailers. They are useful and a cost-effective alternative to larger boxes. When the product is packed in them, it stays safe, occupies less space, and reduces your shipping costs. These can be used creatively to send your brand messages across to your customers.
Packing Tape
It is a must-have item for any e-commerce retailer. The tape helps to seal the boxes tightly and ensures the package is delivered to its destination undamaged and unopened. It is wise to get packing tape in bulk because you’ll be needing a lot of it.
Printer Paper
A good printer is a necessity. It is required to print customer invoices, shipping labels, and packing item lists. You have to make sure that you have a large printer paper stock.
Cushioning Materials
Sometimes just boxes aren’t enough to protect delicate materials from getting damaged throughout the shipping process. In such cases, you’ll need some cushioning material to protect your products from any damage during the journey. You can try Bubble wrap, it is a popular option for products that are slightly smaller than the boxes they’re in. When wrapping with bubble wrap make sure that you have completely wrapped the product with no corners showing.
Sealable Bags
You can seal around your products with sealable bags. They prove themselves beneficial for keeping your products safe during the shipping process. They help to add another layer of protection and can also keep your items from moving around inside the box. Moreover, they can be useful especially in those cases, if you are shipping something that could get entangled such as jewelry, or fabric items like scarves or clothing.
Shipping Scale
In order to calculate your own shipping costs or print out your shipping labels accurately, you might consider investing in a shipping scale. You need to be sure that it is a scale that is specifically for calculating shipments so that you know it will be accurate enough. Also, you have to look at the capacity of each scale. For instance, if you are shipping small items like jewelry then you don’t need a scale that can measure up to hundreds of Kgs. And if you have large and heavy items to ship, don’t buy a scale with a small limit.
Branded Labels
Your shipping materials are a great opportunity for you to add your company branding to the whole customer experience. You can design personalized labels, stickers and put them inside your package. This will allow you to tell your customers exactly who the package is from and can help you foster return business.
If you want to give your customers a really great experience, you can also purchase some small thank you cards. I hope you will get some useful information with the help of this blog. If you wish to buy some packaging essentials for yourself, don’t forget to visit TrueGether, the best alternative to Shopify.