This year, Macfarlane Packaging, our parent company ran it’s 6th annual unboxing survey. The survey is designed to give us a better insight into online shopping habits and what consumers think of the packaging retailers use. Over 600 online shoppers responded to the survey this year, more than ever before. Here’s what we’ve learnt from the results…
The boom in online shopping is here to stay
A whopping 88% of people who were surveyed said they now spend more time shopping online since the pandemic. This aligns with retail closures during lockdown, but it seems the change in shopping habits is permanent. 64% of respondents said their online shopping will not change in the future and 1/3 said their online shopping will increase. The findings support an IMRG report from January that stated the ecommerce industry saw it’s strongest growth for over a decade in 2020.
More shoppers are starting to value sustainable packaging
Sustainability and recycling are becoming increasingly important as the world faces a climate crisis. This was reflected in our group’s unboxing results…
- Almost all respondents said they try to follow recycling instructions.
- However, 14% said they were unsure how to recycle because the packaging didn’t have clear labelling
- Almost 1 in 5 people said they wouldn’t buy from a retailer again if their packaging wasn’t sustainable
The highlights the need for retailers (and all businesses) to put sustainability at the forefront of their packaging strategies.
Retailers are missing marketing opportunities when it comes to packaging
Surprisingly, half of participants said their unboxing experience was underwhelming. Almost 1/3 said their unboxing experience would not encourage them to buy from a retailer again. Plus half of the packaging respondents received was unbranded too.
This represents a missed opportunity to leverage packaging to enhance the journey and maximise the unboxing experience. Retailers need to take advantage of this to increase brand loyalty.
To see the full results and download the survey report click here to visit the Macfarlane Packaging website. If you want help with your packaging, get in touch.
