Holiday season is one of the most lucrative times for retail business, with many seeing a boost of up to 80%!
If executed correctly, a holiday strategy has the potential to transform businesses and bring a lot of revenue in a short time period, leading to a more profitable brand.
That’s why it’s so crucial to pay attention to every aspect of your holiday offerings and ensure you’re offering customers the best experience possible.
One of the best ways to accomplish this is through well planned holiday packaging.
It’s an investment that can pay off and help you see a successful holiday season.
So what kind of items are customers gravitating towards?
And how can you position your holiday strategy and packaging to drive more success?
- Over 50% of consumers buy clothing and accessories
- 30% of shoppers are looking for electronics
- Shoppers are willing to spend over $100 on themselves
- Holiday shopping accounts for 30% of all retail sales.
So now that we’ve looked at how integral holiday shopping is for retail businesses let’s look at how holiday packaging can help.
Why Holiday Packaging is a Major Asset for your Brand
It Fulfills an Important Need
First and foremost, holiday boxes and gift packaging serve an important function during this time period.
Consumers are looking for convenient options, ideally ones where they don’t need to do a lot of the wrapping and can potentially be gifted as is.
Brands that simplify the gifting process by offering perks such as holiday packaging are more likely to succeed with customers and stand out from the rest of the competition.
Plus, it takes away the hassle of wrapping presents – and that’s something everyone can get on board with!
It Makes Your Goods More Appealing
We all know that packaging makes a huge difference in the buying experience, which is no different during the holiday season.
A product’s packaging can add to its appeal (or detract from it), and customers use many visual markers when making purchasing decisions.
Why is that occurring?
Some of it boils down to simple truths, such as customers making decisions based on visual appeal. But it goes deeper than that!
Packaging creates the experience of a product.
Customers are looking to be wowed and amazed when they purchase something and buy gifts that create the experience. Packaging can accomplish that.
Unique seasonal packaging can make the product stand out and entice customers to choose the product over others.
It Builds Brand Recall
For retail brands to be successful, it is absolutely vital to building lasting relationships with customers.
That can be hard for most of the year as it’s sometimes difficult to differentiate from the competition.
But Christmas and holiday packaging can be great ways to stand out and build meaningful relationships with customers.
Holiday packaging is an opportunity to show how different your product is, really let creativity shine and make something that customers will always remember.
It’s an easy route towards building brand recall that can significantly impact even after the holidays.
Holiday packaging has a domino effect on customers: They gift your products to others, post about it on social media, and generally promote your brand, thereby creating meaningful visual content.
You’ve essentially created a channel of communication that ensures your brand stands out from the rest through packaging.
The Basics of Holiday Packaging
So now that we’ve established why holiday packaging is so crucial for your retail business, let’s get into the logistics of it.
Creating successful gift packaging requires balancing multiple elements to create customised packaging perfect for your brand.
The first step is to think about your brand identity and what fits it best. Is it all about flash and glam, with bright colors?
Or are you more likely to go for minimal themes with thoughtful design? Do you want bold colors or pastels?
You can also go for classic Christmas colors such as gold, red, and green for a traditional approach.
Remember that holiday packaging can be as much or as little as you want. Some brands go all out and create lots of luxe packaging.
Others go for simple touches such as seasonal tissues, bags, and small boxes to create a festive look.
As e-commerce begins to take up more market share, especially during this time period, holiday boxes and packaging take on even more importance.
Key features of holiday packaging for 2021 include:
- Protective packaging that is both flexible and durable
- A consistent supply to ensure customers aren’t left waiting
- A strong packing process for maximum efficiency such as automation, assembly lines, and more to keep up with demand
- Sustainable packaging to create a better relationship with customers and the environment
Revisiting your Holiday Budget
Another aspect to consider with holiday packaging is cost. What’s your budget, what are you willing to invest in, and what options give you the best value?
Remember that holiday packaging will need a separate set of funds than your regular packaging and may be more elaborate, so earmark it a bit more than you normally might.
Once you’ve established a per-unit budget, you can start looking at options. More affordable options include simple boxes with designs printed, but others may choose to go for a more customised option that could drive the price up.
Don’t forget about shipping
You can’t really think about cost without considering shipping and how that impacts your budgets. Shipping costs can vary during peak seasons, and demand can lead to shipping prices skyrocketing.
In addition, prices have steadily increased across different shipping routes, so mapping out potential options and how that could impact the bottom line is important before carrying out holiday packaging plans.
Looking out for Competition
If you’re not sure where to start with holiday packaging, your first step is to see what others are doing.
Many companies go all out for the holidays, and while you may not be able to reach the same level, it can provide ample inspiration.
For example, companies such as Starbucks are renowned for their holiday packaging, and they make an occasion out of it when their seasonal cup designs release.
It’s a clever way to capture seasonal attention while also driving up sales through limited edition drinks.
Choosing the Right Holiday Packaging
When selecting the right kind of Christmas packaging, many options are available depending on your product and budget! Here are some of the best options to select from
Boxes
Holiday boxes are one of the most versatile packaging options available. You can go for wooden, plastic, steel, cardboard, and more to create truly beautiful and unique packaging.
Sustainable options such as cardboard have become more popular in this respect. You can use product boxes, known for thinner walls and used for retail shelves, or thicker-walled mailer boxes built for e-commerce.
Less is always more
We’ve mentioned it earlier, but design is a very important part of holiday packaging. While the traditional options are always there, going for something non-traditional can be a great way to be memorable with customers.
There has been an increase in illustrations, drawings, and other types of art on packaging to make it stand out and increase brand value.
However, it’s easy to get carried away with design and make the packaging look cluttered and busy.
Remember that there is a balance between design and simplicity, and ultimately you should be looking to create a timeless design but still reflects your brand.
Sustainability is key
No matter what kind of holiday packaging you’re choosing, sustainability needs to be at the center of it.
The holidays are a lovely time, but they also lead to a record amount of waste. Studies show that much of the waste thrown around this time of year includes packaging elements such as ribbons, gift boxes, laminated designs, plastic and cellophane wrapping.
Not only is that a lot to throw away, but many of these materials are not recyclable, leading to bigger issues!
There is a greater responsibility for retailers to create packaging that generates less waste, thereby ensuring that customers can feel more comfortable about the packaging.
With increased scrutiny on retailers around their carbon footprint, creating packaging with lots of non recyclable and environmentally unfriendly materials would be counterproductive!
Use Social Media Channels to your Advantage
We’ve all seen a trend around unboxing experiences on platforms such as Youtube and Instagram and the impact they can have on sales.
The better the unboxing, the more people are likely to gravitate towards the products. So how do you create that kind of buzz?
Of course, you can work with influencers to share your product, but you can also encourage customers directly.
Make sure to include your social media handles and holiday hashtags on the packaging so that customers can quickly and easily share their unboxing experience and show off how great your product is!
Word-of-mouth and recommendations make a significant difference in sales, and incorporating social media appeal into your packaging will reap great results.
With the holiday season approaching quickly, it’s time to start thinking about when to order your holiday packaging.
Get in contact with PakFactory today to get substantial advice on everything from your design to your logistics planning!
