Do you remember the good old days of Black Friday shopping? You would wake up at dawn the day after Thanksgiving, head to the mall, and scramble through your favorite box store to get the best deal on the hottest new gadget. While the post-Turkey Day holiday shopping tradition is still a staple of many families, the growth of eCommerce means many consumers are no longer leaving their homes to grab gifts.

If your company is involved in eCommerce, there are several things you’ll want to think about in regard to packaging. Especially if you’re expecting an influx of orders in the days before and after Black Friday and Cyber Monday – aka Cyber Week. At the top of that list is figuring out the best box style and size for your product. 

Determining the right box size will depend on product shape, how you pack it, the level of protection it needs, and how your customer prefers to receive it. If you’re a larger company, you’ll also want to consider the possibility your product will be dropped, tossed, or shuffled around in transit across the globe. If it isn’t packed properly, it will probably be damaged – resulting in an unpleasant unboxing experience for the end consumer. 

There are several box types used for eCommerce, including but not limited to: Regular Slotted Container (RSC), Full Overlap (FOL), Auto Bottom Closure, Snap Lock Bottom Closure, Roll End Tuck Front (RETF), Roll End Tuck Front (RETF) with Dust Flaps, One Panel Folder (OPF), and Five Panel Folder (5PF). 

The most popular eCommerce boxes created at Pacific Box Company are RETF and RSC containers. The RETF box is trendy among specialty food, beauty, and subscription box brands because it offers a more engaging customer experience, is easy to assemble, and is incredibly sturdy. In contrast, the RSC shipper box is the standard corrugated container used by eCommerce giant Amazon. While the RSC box is no-frills, it’s the most commonly used style globally because of its low manufacturing cost and versatility.

While RETF and RSC boxes are among the most commonly used containers for eCommerce, Pacific Box Company understands they might not be the best fit for every item and can create custom packaging for any type of product imaginable. Whether it's a bobblehead or a 500-pound treadmill, Pacific Box can design around your actual product and manufacture the most economical packaging available. We also have experience building short-run, high graphics boxes for eCommerce shopping and in-store Black Friday displays. 

When deciding the type of eCommerce box you want to create, keep in mind that some box styles use less material than others, which can drastically reduce packaging and shipping costs. Creating custom eCommerce packaging also allows for more efficient shipping by providing the opportunity to create boxes that are recyclable and stackable for outbound delivery.

Alternately, oversized packaging requires more infill and increases overall box weight and shipping rates. In fact, the dimensional (DIM) weight pricing models used by UPS, FedEx, and USPS actually penalize shippers for sending products in oversized boxes.  

With global online sales hitting an all-time high of $275 billion during Cyber Week 2021 -- and more consumers planning to skip the stress of in-person combat shopping -- your eCommerce packaging should be optimized to enhance the customer experience, improve profitability, and leave a lasting impression. If you’re interested in making that a reality, Pacific Box Company is here to help.

Source: Salesforce

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