Delivering Retail Display Boxes That Wow

The first impression you make on a consumer is often through the retail display boxes of your product. An impression that makes them feel something positive (e.g., happiness, nostalgia, kinship, intrigue) is more likely to result in a sale.

Forecast for 2022

Over the past two years, the pandemic has reshaped the retail world as many purchases shifted online. Experts anticipate that 20 percent of the shift toward digital retail is

expected to stick into 2022. They also feel that consumer spending of built-up savings acquired during the pandemic will lend an additional 3 to 4.5 percentage points to GDP growth. One area that has seen an increase in spending is eCommerce subscriptions.

The good news is that people will continue to spend, but with all the options available between in-store and online, brands will need to take extra steps to ensure their products’ retail display boxes stand out on the shelf (or webpage).

What Makes an Impactful Retail Display Box?

Retail display packaging plays a pivotal role in the consumer experience. Whether your products will be seen in a brick-and-mortar store, purchased through e-commerce, or both, your retail packaging is facing fierce competition.

To be part of the eCommerce subscription trend, you’ll need to deliver an unforgettable unboxing experience by presenting packaging that visually displays your product’s value, building trust, brand recognition, identity, and more. The same is true for packaging consumers can pick up off the shelf and touch it before purchasing. However, the means by which customers interact with your product is not as important as the packaging itself, moving them to make a purchase and repurchase from you.
There are several elements that can help you to create impactful packaging that will resonate with your customers.

Color Choice

Color choice is a critical component of your brand and its packaging. Research has shown that people subconsciously judge a product within 90 seconds of initial viewing, and as much as 90 percent of that judgment can be based on color alone!
Color can be tricky because perceived meanings can differ between the sexes, cultures, ages, and more. It is essential to know your target audience and understand their perceptions of colors.

If your target market is trendy, for example, you might want to incorporate the Pantone color of the year. For 2022, the color is Very Peri, which Pantone describes as a “dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet red undertone.” This color may also appeal to those bold individuals that can relate to “displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity.”

Printing Choice

The type of printing used to create your custom printed retail display packaging can impact your customers’ perception of your brand. Designers can choose between flexographic printing, litho mount and litho laminate, and digital or a combination.

Flexographic Printing

• Typically used for simple graphics
• Advances in technology are allowing for higher quality printing
• Fast
• Best for large orders

Litho Mount and Litho Laminated Printing

• Photo quality printing
• Can cover the entire box or just a portion
• Cost-effective for large volumes

Digital printing

• Cost-effective for low quantities
• Better quality than traditional flexographic
• Consider adding coatings or embellishments to your retail packaging for an extra pop.

Read our eBook – Printing Guide: Choosing the Right Print Methods for your Corrugated Project

Eco-Friendly Retail Packaging

The pandemic also impacted consumers’ concerns about the environmental impact of materials as it created a shift away from sustainability towards protection from the virus, according to a Mordor Intelligence industry report. This led to increased plastic waste driven by increased use of disposable PPE, bottled water, plastic bags, disposable wipes, and sanitizers.

However, this has increased demand for sustainable packaging as consumers have become more aware of these environmental concerns. Companies are reacting to consumers’ need for sustainable packaging by reducing packaging materials, creating lighter packaging, and reducing waste.

Corrugated is the ultimate sustainable packaging as it is made from a renewable resource, optimizes the use of recycled materials, can be optimized to reduce materials and energy use, is recyclable.

Progress Container & Display Excels at Delivering Impactful Retail Display Packaging

We have been delivering impactful retail solutions since 1971. We use our state-of-the-art graphics and design capabilities to create retail packaging that sells for our clients in our home state of Georgia and throughout the country. You will benefit from our comprehensive understanding of retail packaging, design principles, and the importance of providing a high-quality product quickly.

If you are looking for a collaborative partner with the experience to create amazing packaging, insight into the retail space, and the passion and drive for flawless execution, contact us today!

3 Types of Custom Packaging Printing Services

There are many ways to level up your product with custom packaging. From industrial to retail, with expert packaging printing services, you can cover all of your empty space with branded colors and designs utilizing the best printing technology for your goals.

At Progress Container, we offer packaging printing services including flexographic, lithographic, and digital printing to fit your vision for customization and your product needs. With the right printing technology, you can ensure your design meets set standards in a range of industries that include pharmaceutical, eCommerce, apparel, produce, perishables, and more.

By applying a variety of materials including corrugated, plastic, and foam, our packaging printing services will help you achieve your design goals depending on your order size, urgency, and budget. No matter the case, our dedicated team of graphic designers partner with the structural design team to help determine the right direction.

If you already have some print options in mind, talk to our experienced team to discover the best packaging printing services for your product today.

1. Flexographic Printing

You might first consider flexographic packaging for your product needs as it is commonly used for industrial, tertiary, and retail applications. This technology uses flexible photopolymer printing plates to print a single set design for all of your packaging; each plate prints one color. Traditionally, flexo printing is best for one to multiple colors for printing vector images (non-photographic) and lower resolution raster images.

With our Gӧpfert RDC Evolution HBL 8-color printer and die cutter, you get a cost-effective solution for eCommerce with custom printing on the interior. This new technology provides the highest quality flexo print in the world. It allows for up to seven colors on an uncoated substrate, and six colors plus varnish on a coated substrate, of a high-resolution photo and spot color vector images.

There are a few key considerations to keep in mind when deciding whether this packaging printing service is fit for your needs. Flexographic packaging tends to be costly for short print runs, and turnaround time on plate and cutting dies can take three to five days. Overall, flexographic printing runs at high speed with accurate and consistent results. You’ll get the most out of flexographic printing with high volume orders as they are done in a single pass, making it very efficient, cost-effective, and adept at minimizing waste. Dryers and fast-drying ink make it ideal for urgent projects and help decrease production time.

2. Offset Printing Services

Lithographic printing, also called offset printing, is a traditional printing option for retail and luxury packages that requires custom printing plates. By using a positive and negative printing plate, the inked design is then transferred (or “offset”) from a rubber sheet to a paper liner board. The printing can be done on a laminated top sheet that is applied to a single-face corrugated sheet (litho lamination) or printed onto a label that is adhered to double-faced corrugated packaging (litho mount).

When deciding on your preferred packaging printing service, there are a few elements to keep in mind when considering offset printing services. For every new design, product, and promotion, you’ll need to create a new plate, and with an expensive setup process, costs can add up. There is very little room for error, and a longer turnaround can be expected with the time needed to be spent on prep and proofing. If you are looking to stand out with foil stamping, embossing, spot gloss, or other embellishments, however, offset printing is the go-to printing technology for you.

As a cost-effective packaging solution for large orders, offset printing runs without losing quality and makes it easy to print accurate, complex, colorful high-quality images. A larger color gamut, along with spot colors, can further extend your image options. Offset printing generates large areas of a single color smoothly and is great for a single design. There are also prep costs associated with offset printing services, but they are traditionally less than the flexographic printing process. With efficient production, offset printing runs faster than digital printing, although production of the lithographic plates required makes it slower for first-time orders.

3. Digital Printing

As technology continues to evolve, digital printing only grows in popularity as quality and cost improve. By using electronics files to print images directly onto corrugated packaging with a single pass, digital printing opens up endless customization opportunities for packaging. The flexibility to upload detailed, high-resolution custom designs directly to the press without the need for printing plates makes digital printing ideal for retail and luxury packaging.

Minimal setup is required for digital printing, and it is known to be a faster alternative for small orders. Added turnaround time is to be expected, however, factoring in demand and shipping. If your goal is to scale your printing production, be sure to keep in mind that digital inks tend to be more expensive. Digital printing still remains behind in color accuracy compared to offset and flexographic printing. Rather than printing one color at a time, however, digital printing frees you from the limitations of print plates — delivering the full spectrum of color in one go.

As a cost-effective printing solution for small orders, digital printing allows for print-on-demand and is a great go-to option for prototypes, package samples, seasonal promotions, and one-off packaging. Digital printing is a sustainable printing option, as you can print what you want, when you need it. With the capability to print detailed, multi-colored, high-resolution orders, digital printing remains a great option for printing orders consistently, and accurately.

Explore Customer-Centric Packaging Printing Services

At Progress Container, we understand that first impressions matter. Not only do your products need to arrive undamaged, but your package needs to deliver an unforgettable unboxing experience. That’s why when it comes to your design solution, our in-house graphic designers always take a holistic approach. We identify supply-chain factors, consider consumers and distribution, and align with the structural design to deliver branded packaging that fits your timeline.

With more than 100 combined years of experience across various industries, our expert packaging printing services know how to execute eCommerce and retail-ready packaging to safely, transport, display, and represent your brand.

Communicate your product’s value with packaging designs that demonstrate your brand today.

Deliver an Unforgettable Unboxing Experience

Keep your eCommerce company competitive with branded and creative packaging ideas for shipping that visually display your product’s value, build trust, brand recognition, identity, and more.

It’s said that packaging is just as important as the product. Whether you’re in the market for industrial packaging or an eCommerce solution, when it comes to creative packaging ideas for shipping, Progress Container & Display has you covered.

The more upscale a product, the more it requires quality packaging. As online shopping continues to grow, you need packaging that is not only durable and lightweight but also a package that establishes your brand.

To stay competitive in eCommerce and offer customers the best unboxing experience, we suggest including design elements that span from branding essentials to minimalist packaging, interior packaging design, and more.

Ready to delight customers with customized shipping? Talk to us to get started today.

How We Elevate Shipping with Custom Design

At Progress Container, we supported our client, Great Jones Goods, with printed graphics and illustrations for a one-of-a-kind unboxing experience that was themed, original, and uniquely artisan. As an eCommerce business that sells pots and pans, it was fitting that we customized the face of their shipping box with an oven as a creative way to delight customers with an out-of-the-box approach to packaging.

With inside print capabilities, their packaging includes high-end food patterns printed on the interior. Not only did this custom shipping design effectively communicate the delicious end result of their product, but it also built brand recognition using their unique illustration style and branded multicolors. To learn more about this client and our interior printing capabilities, read more about our eCommerce packaging solutions here.

3 Creative Packaging Ideas for Shipping

Include a Cohesive, Branded Design

When your customer finally receives your product, their first impression will be your shipping box. Build brand loyalty and ensure customer retention by first creating a branded experience. To make sure your packaging is hitting the mark, start by considering how to incorporate your current logo, colors, theme, and font. Keep this visual description of your brand consistent, and it will go a long way in communicating your story and value.

Considering your logo, brand colors, and typeface helps your customers start to engage with you on the next level. Help them experience a seamless transition from online perception to a real-world relationship with your brand.

Connect your product back to your company and the mission behind it all with your branded design. Allow your design to display your values, whether they be health, safety, entertainment, or transparency. A thoughtful thank-you card can be the extra step that helps you stand out with a personal touch.

Repeated Patterns

If you need an easy way to attract interest and attention, consider taking your packaging up a notch with a custom pattern. Patterns are a simple way to elevate your branded color scheme and give your packaging a unique look.

Not only are patterns interesting to look at, but they also play a key role in building brand recognition. When you incorporate your pattern at every touchpoint in both print and digital, you create consistency in your brand identity.

If you are looking to fill in some space on your packaging with a creative design, a pattern may be the best way to go. Just be sure that your pattern doesn’t overcomplicate your design when adding text and other design elements.

Complement the Product

Continue to complement the product in your shipping design. For example, if your product encourages a healthy and holistic lifestyle, supports an environmental cause, or is sustainably made, consider minimalist or nature-inspired designs that communicate this value.

Holding back on design elements with neutral colors and simple line art illustrations can also work in your favor. You can take a minimalist design to the next level with a pop of color or texture to add a modern flare.

On the other hand, if your product has loud colors and is often used as a gift, delight your customers by adding colored packaging paper and making them feel special with a bold, confetti-inspired look.

Overall, it’s essential to consider what purpose your design serves and deliver quality packaging that customers are proud to keep. Keep in mind how your customers will interact with your product and what you can do to push your designs one step further.

From Conception to Production, Custom Shipping Starts Here

Your packaging sells your product and makes customers feel a certain way about your brand when it arrives at their door. When executed well, branded packaging leads to customer retention, repeat purchases, customer loyalty, and social sharing. Conversely, when packaging fails, customers question your product’s quality — and may even consider returning it.

At Progress Container & Display, we are the first company in the U.S. to utilize the Gopfert press with an inside print station. By applying a state-of-the-art German printer for both internal and external corrugated printing design, we demonstrate our commitment to quality at every step of the production process. This top-of-the-line system has a proud history of being the first direct-drive rotary die-cutter ever developed and can deliver the level of quality your product deserves. With top-bottom printing, eight colors, rich coverage, clean lines, flexographic printing, and high-definition printing, the unique packaging opportunities are limitless. Discover the added efficiency and accuracy with a machine designed to perform.

When it comes to your creative packaging and production, originality, consistency, and speed-to-market matter. Progress Container & Display is a printing partner you can trust. Look no further than our top-of-the-line Gopfert machinery for your custom eCommerce packaging solutions. We’ll take the guesswork out of the design to execute all of your creative packaging ideas for shipping.

Contact us today for samples and to get started on prototypes for any project.