The Unboxing Experience: Why It Matters and How to Implement It

Recently, we wrote Packaging Industry Trends: What to Expect in 2024 and lightly touched on “the unboxing experience,” which piqued the interest of some of our readers who wanted to learn more about the subject. This article will dive deeper into why it’s important to the overall customer experience and provide examples of a few small businesses that have taken different approaches.

Although this article refers to and uses examples specific to consumer-facing e-commerce companies, this information is still relevant to most industries. It can be helpful for any marketing strategy, including B2B.

Simply put, the unboxing experience refers to how your customer feels and reacts when receiving and opening a packaged product. There are many reasons why the unboxing experience is essential, but they won’t all fit into this article, so we’ve summarized the key factors that play the most significant role.

To provide examples of different unboxing strategies, we purchased a few items from small e-commerce companies that have taken steps to provide branded and/or unique unboxing experiences for their customers. BradyPLUS offers a wide range of custom, unique, or custom-branded packaging options for our customers.

Strategy 1
Product Branding

Look at Kopper Kettle Candies. It came in a plain box, but on the inside, their unique branding is directly on the product packaging. They even have a QR code on the side of the box that directs their customer to the nutrition facts for the product inside (It’s delicious, gourmet chocolate by the way)!

Highlights:

• Obvious branding on the product
• Website is listed on the packaging
• Protective packaging
• QR code with product information/resources

Strategy 2
Branded Packaging

Now let’s look at Coffee.Club. Different from Kopper Kettle, the package arrived in a fully branded box, bringing immediate attention to what the product is and where it came from. The product packaging has no branding, but the box alone effectively showcases the company’s brand while providing the necessary product protection. They even included a measuring spoon!

Highlights:

• Outside-the-box branding
• Website is listed on the packaging
• Protective Packaging
• Easy to open

Strategy 3
Unique Customer Experience

Here is an example from Wicked Foxx. They ship their uniquely branded products in plain boxes with brightly colored protective packaging on the inside. With layers of fun to explore, the first thing you see is a thank you card, followed by a scratch-off “LOL card” that gives you the punch line of a joke once you scratch it off, bringing a little extra joy to the customer. What could be better?

Highlights:

• Inside-the-box branding
• Unique/colorful packaging
• Obvious branding on the product
• Customer-specific thank you card
• Website is listed on the packaging
• Efficient product protection
• Easy to open
• Unique customer experience
• Product use instructions

In summary, there’s no one way to provide a unique unboxing experience for your customer. The key is to find one that works best for your business and aligns with your brand! The most important thing to keep in mind is that you want your customers to remember where they made their purchase and provide them with a positive experience.

Need assistance with pulling together the perfect unboxing experience for your customer? From colored tissue paper to fully customized packaging products unique to your brand, BradyPLUS has you covered. Reach out to us to get started!

1. The impact of personalized packaging on consumer perception and brand loyalty