E-Commerce Packaging Vs Retail Packaging: What's The Difference?

Nowadays, we see and listen to many different types of packaging that are available in the market. If you are a small business owner or going to start a business of your own or just want to know about different types of packages but don’t know the difference then this blog is for you.

With the help of fast-speed internet and mass connectivity to the internet, we can witness the boom of eCommerce business. And just like that many retail businesses are profiting from them by taking their business to online platforms.

Being said that just taking your business to the online platforms is not the end of your task to get your business running. You will have to make sure that the product reaches safely to the customer and that the packaging is done correctly.

One of the biggest reasons behind the failure to run a profitable business is bad customer feedback. There are many reasons for a customer to dislike the product that is offered by you.

The most common reason that we come across is damaged or broken goods. If we look into the statistics then we will come across the fact that as many as 43.76 million people will not buy from a website if they received a damaged product.

If you want to avoid being in the numbers then you should pay attention to the packaging which plays an important role in protecting the products til they reach their customers.

In this blog, we will talk about the two types of eCommerce and Retail Packaging.

So let’s dive in without wasting any time.

What Is E-Commerce Packaging?

E-commerce packaging is done when a product has to travel to the customer's address directly from the warehouse. The packaging must be travel-friendly and protect the products from damage.

What Are Some Examples Of Product Packaging?

Some Examples of product packaging would be custom printed tape or the corrugated boxes that we get when we order our products online as well as have seen courier bags that are tamper-proof and will keep your product safe.

Things that we order from eCommerce websites like the box or bag that protects your electronics appliances or other things like shoes, perfume, apparel ETC.

What Is Retail Packaging?

The packaging that products have while they are in a retail store. This type of packaging is used for aesthetic purposes only and this packaging will not protect the product from damage.

What Are Examples Of Retail Packaging?

Examples of retail packaging are Custom boxes, die-cut boxes, paper bags, or different forms of flexible packaging like stand-up pouches that hold snacks and other eatables or box that comes with your toothpaste or lightweight boxes of cosmetic or perfumes etc.

What Is The Difference Between E-Commerce Packaging And Retail Packaging?

Now, that we understand what both of these packaging are. We are ready to talk about the difference between eCommerce packaging and Retail packaging.

We made a list of differences between these packaging which is written down below.

Product packaging and design

As retail and eCommerce packaging have different designs when it comes to their requirements. This is understandable, retail packaging is designed in such a way that it attracts a customer’s interest in a fleeting moment and convinces them to buy.

In retail packaging, things happen quicker than we think, it's a game of mere seconds that will decide if the customer will buy your product or not.

While in e-commerce packaging, it is a whole different story. When we order something from a website and receive our parcels. We are eager to open it, and the excitement is similar to the one that we used to get while opening our birthday presents.

E-Commerce packaging is very cleverly designed. It is designed in such a way that will make customers feel valued and shows that the brand that they are buying from cares about them.

Unlike retail packaging, E-commerce packaging has the undivided attention of a customer and they have to design the packaging in such a way that the unboxing experience of a customer is worth the hype, price and excitement that the customer has paid for.

Functionality

The next thing, that makes a huge difference between these two packaging is their functionality. The main reason for the product to have packaging in the first place was to protect the product from the damage that it might get during transit.

But now, packaging is so much more than just protecting the product. These days when the competition is too high then the brands and companies have to use all the things that they have to, to remain in the competition.

This is the reason behind product packaging being used as a way to promote and advertise. But now that has evolved into a whole different form of packaging and lost its purpose. We are talking about retail packaging here.

As in retail packaging, the product packaging’s only purpose is to attract customers and get them an aesthetic feel. These packages are made from paper boards and have excellent designs.

While in eCommerce packaging, the product has to travel a long distance because of which it is important for the packaging to be sturdy enough to withstand the external blows along with having a good design of unboxing experience.

The material that is used in this type of packaging is corrugated boxes with 3ply or 5 ply. If you are not aware of different types of corrugated boxes then you can check out these blogs which have a piece of detailed information about the boxes and the different grades of paper used to make packaging.

Conclusion

We have discussed all the major differences that eCommerce packaging and Retail packaging have between them.

Before we went for the discussion about the differences we learn what exactly these two types of packaging are and their examples.

Then we talked about their differences. After which we are here in this section where we are summarizing all the things that we have talked about till now.