13 May 2019

How Online Retailers Can Stay Competitive by Using Quality Packaging

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The retail industry has always been a very competitive marketplace. Even in the days when the majority of retail activity took place in the traditional high street arena, it was always important to have an edge over your rivals. Today, levels of competition have reached an all-time high, with online shopping changing the retail industry perhaps beyond all recognition. Many smaller retail companies are popping up and using Warehouse Space London companies such as http://uplands-e17.co.uk/ as a base for their growing businesses.

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Online Retail Sales Hit Record Levels

The average modern-day consumer is a lot more demanding than their counterparts from yesteryear, particularly those who conduct their shopping online. When shopping online, expectations are that the price of goods will be cheaper than the high street, delivery will be fast and that communication from the retailer will be top-notch. These expectations may be high but, after all, it is only fair. Real Business recently reported that UK online shoppers are expected to spend an average of over £1000 each shopping on the internet in 2015. Even more astonishingly, as reported in the Daily Mail, online spending hit a colossal £500,000 a minute on the second Monday of December 2014, now known forever as Manic Monday.

Despite the huge amounts of money being spent, there is only so much to go around. Online retailers still need to pull out all of the stops to ensure they do not get left behind by their competition. One of the ways in which internet retailers can stand out from the crowd is by providing superior packaging for their products.

The Importance of High-Quality Packaging

It is all about getting the right packaging solution in place to both satisfy consumers and keep costs within agreed limits. A balance needs to be struck. Too much packaging can be viewed as overkill by consumers and will soon blow budgets sky high. In contrast, sparse packaging looks unprofessional, and retailers run the very real risk of their customers receiving damaged goods – not ideal for good customer feedback.

The most efficient way for retailers to ensure their packing process runs smoothly and efficiently is to invest in professional packaging machines. The likes of pallet wrappers and strapping machines, not only speed up the whole packing process, but also ensure goods are well protected when in transit. The utilisation of such machinery has the added bonus of freeing up workers for other tasks which require more of a human touch while the donkey work is done automatically.

A Boost to Online Retailers

The resulting increase in packaging productivity will be a huge boost to online retailers, particularly during excessively busy periods such as Black Friday and Manic Monday. The consistently high quality of the product packaging should also garner good reviews from satisfied customers. With competition now so fierce in the retail industry, a succession of good reviews posted online can lift a retailer above their competition and set them on the road to success.