E-commerce is a business niche that runs on logistics just as much as it runs on the products that it sells. There may be an e-commerce brand that has the best formula and the sharpest design, with the most loyal following, but they still lose money every month due to packaging that either costs too much to ship and store., Or is very expensive to replace.
This is a part of why collapsible rigid boxes have quietly but saliently become one of the more talked-about and focused-on shifts in packaging strategy. Especially for online brands. These boxes are the best solution for a handful of very specific very expensive problems and that too all at once. Here are some of the reasons why so many e-commerce companies are making this noticeable shift.
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They Cut Warehouse Costs Without Cutting Quality
Packaging quality is something that online brands, in specific, cannot bargain on at all. The problem with the traditional rigid boxes was that they came pre-assembled. This meant that each one of these boxes took up full shape in storage right from the moment that it was delivered. Brands that fulfilled hundreds or thousands of orders per month had to pay a hell of a lot of money just to store such boxes. On the other hand a collapsible rigid box ships and stores flat. It falls into its full form only when one needs it. This saving showed up almost immediately for high-business brands.
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Freight Costs Drop Significantly
High freight charges are the primitive fear of every online brand. Not to say it has become one of the most nerve-wracking concerns for every business that ships its products to its customers. However still, shipping air is one of the most overlooked expenses when it comes to packaging. There is a lot of air in prebuilt rigid boxes unless a product goes inside of them.
On the other hand freight carriers charge by volume and they also charge as much as by weight. Since custom collapsible rigid boxes‘ construction lets them travel flat. A single shipment can carry far more of them than the same truck or container that has fully assembled boxes in it. Brands that purchase collapsible boxes wholesale often see this benefit reflected in their per-unit landed cost because the savings on freight combine with the volume pricing advantage.
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Unboxing Still Feels Premium
Can an online business actually take a risk on their unboxing experience? Absolutely not. All of the cost savings that you may make with the help of your light and foldable boxes may mean nothing if it comes at the expense of your users’ experience. The best news is that luxury collapsible packaging never asks you for this trade-off. Its board weight, wrapped finish, and soft closure of the lid are exactly the same as any strong rigid box. In short you can say that all of the best things of a standard rigid box come preserved in a collapsible design. So much so that the end users sometimes do not even notice. That the box that they are holding in their hand was a flat sheet moments before it was sent out to them.
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They Scale With Order Volume
Without becoming somewhat of a bottleneck, packaging needs to keep pace with the growth that is unpredictable for most online brands. Printed collapsible rigid boxes are very easy to order in large batches upfront. Businesses can lock in better pricing without having to make any extra effort for storing them properly. A growing brand can order quarters’ worth of boxes and assemble only the ones that are needed when they are needed.
5.Branding Doesn’t Get Sacrificed for Efficiency
There are certain space-saving packaging solutions in the market that somewhat compel brands to simplify their design. Either by dropping foil stamps, embossing, or a structural intricacy that may not hold up well if applied on thinner materials. On the other hand, collapsible rigid box do not have any such limitations. Since they are made up of rigid board. Their print detail, color depth, and finish hold their sharpness. Just the way they would on a standard solid rigid box. For e-commerce brands for whom the box is an end in itself. A marketing device to be photographed, opened on camera, and posted on social media. That difference (in packaging) matters.
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Assembly Is Fast Enough for Fulfillment Teams
The design of a packaging solution is considered to be functional. Only if it is quick enough to assemble when it comes to usage. A properly manufactured flexible rigid packaging is made around a simple mechanism: locking tabs and reinforcing folding lines. This is something that can be done with minimal effort and should not require any fulfillment staff. Hence cutting down on extra minutes pressing a box into shape for every order. During peak seasons the speed matters a lot.
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They Reduce Damage in Transit and Return Handling
Most of us misinterpret rigid boxes and rigid structures as being just about looks. The actuality is exactly the opposite: rigid structures protect what is inside, which is mostly fragile, expensive, or sensitive items. That same durability factor could come in handy for brands that handle returns. As a more durable package will be less likely to arrive back damaged. And/or still be presentable if it needs to be resold.
E-commerce businesses struggle a lot while maintaining and balancing presentation along with margins. Custom rigid boxes give them a strong way to stop treating their packaging game. As something that they can make savings on by cutting off the quality. They solve recurring storage problems. And also are the best solutions to cut down on freight prices that are becoming increasingly unpredictable.
