When you work in ecommerce, a box isn’t just a box. It’s a gateway to excitement! At least that’s how your customers view it. Because inside that box is a purchase or a gift. It’s something special to them.
To make that special moment even more momentous, ecommerce brands are investing a little more time and effort into “unboxing.” What is unboxing? Well, in truth it can be just about anything that inspires joy upon opening a delivery box. Below we will discuss why ecommerce marketers should care about unboxing; as well as a few ideas to get you started.
Unboxing & Social Media Marketing
“Welcome to the world of ‘unboxing videos,’ one of the many peculiar genres on YouTube,” writes CNN Business. “The volume of unboxing videos has boomed in recent years. Easy to make and surprisingly hypnotic to watch, the videos have become a lucrative little corner of the Internet for the people who film them.”
The primary reason ecommerce marketers should be fond of the unboxing experience is that customers regularly share videos of themselves opening packages on social media. This is especially true of video-focused apps like Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. Marketers always strive to instill a sense of brand loyalty in their shoppers; hoping that this devotion will translate into buyers spreading the good word about their brand.
Well, there is really no better way to do this than by giving customers something to show off – a killer product in a beautiful box.
Including Branding to Stay Top of Mind
We’ve already established that a valuable unboxing experience motivates buyers and social media influencers to evangelize ecommerce brands. But to really drive the point home, you need to include branding everywhere you can. This includes adding logos to your delivery box, taglines to your packaging tape and the like.
If you have a subpar logo or no logo at all, this could be a problem. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your branding without spending a lot of dough. Even if you don’t have a designer on staff (or the budget to hire one freelance), you can create a logo through Shopify, Hatchful or another online logo builder.
By affixing logos and other brand identifiers to your packaging, you have a better chance of staying top of mind.
A Few Unboxing Ideas
So, you are sold on the concept of unboxing, but you don’t know where to start. That’s okay. We have a few suggestions that should help you brainstorm.
Our first suggestion is to include freebies and promotional materials in your delivery boxes. Examples include branded stickers, patches, little toys, cosmetic sampler packs and the ilk. Clearly, the types of freebies your insert into your order fulfillments should match your offerings and brand identity. But still, the purpose is to provide buyers a little something extra to make them feel special. In the case of stickers, it’s a way for shoppers to show off your brand.
Another idea is to include something purposeful. For instance, if you sell clothing made of all-natural fibers to a very “granola” crowd, you could include soap nuts as a eco-friendly alternative to laundry detergent. It’s kitsch, it’s thoughtful and it’s on-brand. Similar ideas include cleaning products with consumer electronics or makeup remover wipes with cosmetics.
What other ideas can you think of?
Green & Eco-Friendly Packaging
It’s important to avoid making your unboxing experience obnoxious. The last thing shoppers want to find in their delivery box is a pound of loose glitter – yuck! Not only is this a pain to clean up, it’s also extremely hard on the environment.
This brings us to our last point – keep your packaging materials eco-friendly. While adding extra flair to your unboxing experience is a good idea, some shoppers are frustrated by unnecessary packaging since they see it as wasteful. By sticking with “green” materials, you can rest easy knowing that everyone will be happy.
Are you ready to launch your own unboxing experience? Get out there and have some fun! Your customers will appreciate it.
