With the stay-at-home order, consumers have changed the buying habits from in store to online. Due to this shift in consumer buying habits, eCommerce in the US is predicted to grow by 18% in 2020. With this change, companies must change the way they package their goods.
Environmental Impact
In a study done by “Streamline Life Cycle”, they compared products over packaged vs packaged efficiently. This study found that the over packaged product had a higher environmental impacted, using 14.2% more fossil fuels and 65.6% more greenhouse gas emissions.
Companies must also keep in mind that shoes and clothing, on average have a return rate of 50%. This means in order to minimize their environmental impact, the product’s packaging should be re-closable and easy to return, without needing a new box.
Protection
With the increased number of touch points between the manufacturer of the product, to the end destination, having more durable packaging is essential.
Cost
Over packaging products drives up costs significantly. In the study conducted by “Streamline Life Cycle”, they found, on average, the overly packaged goods increased cost by $4 per unit.