Remember on Christmas morning when you were 7 years old (ish) and all you wanted was the latest Barbie that came with all the fancy clothes and accessories? Do you also remember how long you had to wait while your parents fought to get everything out of the package?
Well, Amazon is pushing companies to move towards easy to open, environmentally less wasteful, and less fancy packaging! There is absolutely no need for a glittery package when you order an item online. Consumers simply want their item to arrive in one piece. Further, we are so eager to use our new purchases, we get frustrated by the need to whip out our machetes just to see our new phone, camera, book, or sweater.
Currently, only about 600 of the millions of items on Amazon come with frustration free packaging. Wal-Mart and Target have yet to make any changes. Companies would have to provide two different sets of packaging. One for in-stores and another less-fussy package for online orders.
The in-store items need to remain flashy and hard to access to encourage sales and prevent theft. However, these reasons do not exist with online purchases. Amazon stated that products with less hassle packaging have received a 73% reduction in negative feedback. Businesses are still resisting the change because it may initially cost both time and money. However, an e-commerce friendly packaging option will result in benefits for the consumer and the company.
The article specifically addresses the fact that many companies are not willing to change because of the expense of change. This emphasizes how important it is to be adaptable (unlike Mrs. Fields). In the long run, companies would ultimately save money on packaging. First, companies can use pure cardboard for shipping. Then, the cardboard can be recycled and reused. Sounds like a win-win...
Holly,
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting and I can definitely see the benefits of it. There's nothing more frustrating than working through that hard plastic to get to your newest toy.
I think that there are different sides to this too. There is an entire industry that deals with just the packaging and design of products to make them more desirable for the consumer. Where would marketing be without the brand?
Would we recognize Barbie without her glitter box or Sponge Bob without his bright yellow container? This makes sense for items that sit on the shelves of department stores.
As for things that you can buy on Amazon, I'm not sure it matters as much. If you already know what you're getting, there's nothing exciting about the box. There's no need for that immediate store-front attraction.
I think that companies like Target and Wal-Mart see it as more of a hassle than anything, with money and with production. As the rest of the world "goes green", maybe this would be a great way for them to keep up.