Branded Tissue Paper Packaging Boosts Customer Retention

Securing loyal customers is an integral component of lasting success, no matter the age or stage of a business. For growing brands in particular, reaching new shoppers is crucial; however, maintaining these customer relationships and bringing them back is equally important. So, how do you accomplish this? Satisfy consumers at every step of the interaction—especially post-purchase. Package InSight’s study on the value of decorative tissue in eCommerce packaging found that adding branded tissue paper to packaging helps achieve this goal. Participants whose packages included this tissue in the interior packaging—compared to plain tissue and other void-fill alternatives—remembered the experience more vividly, potentially making them more likely to make future purchases, yielding greater customer lifetime value. Study data also revealed these participants were more likely to share positive recommendations about the brand or product, ultimately reaching more shoppers.

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Spread the Good Word

In the digital age, online shoppers have ubiquitous access to information about a business. Between social media, blogs, video sharing platforms, and review sites, there is no shortage of ways to find opinions and reviews of a product or brand from actual customers. In fact, nearly 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase. Many consumers may find customers’ opinions more reliable than a brand telling them how great its own products are. Doing everything possible to ensure that the information curious consumers find is overwhelmingly positive is a strategy for success. The key lies in encouraging customers to share positive feedback and opinions. Packaging design can help accomplish this goal. Specifically, when products are accompanied by tissue paper, consumers are more apt to recommend said products. Seventy-six percent (76%) of respondents in Package InSight’s study would be more likely to recommend a brand that wraps its package contents in tissue paper compared to other void-fill materials. When this tissue paper is branded or colored, participants reported that it made the brand seem more upscale, which could further encourage more positive reviews. Conversely, air pillows and Kraft paper void-fill were associated with more negative emotions throughout the study, so using these could encourage negative reviews. With 94% of online shoppers avoiding a business upon seeing a negative review, eliminating this possibility is paramount.

Spur Repeat Purchases

The excitement premier packaging garners has been shown to create a more memorable experience. Whereas typical boxes and void-fill are discarded and ultimately forgotten, the feelings elicited from unpacking colorful, branded tissue paper leave a more lasting impression. This is evident in the recall displayed by participants who received tissue paper, who described their packaging with much greater detail than non-tissue groups 60 and 90 days later. In fact, after 90 days, tissue paper respondents had 40% greater brand and product recall than their void-fill counterparts. Even after that much time, tissue paper packaging created higher positive reactions, with void-fill creating more negative reactions, meaning air pillows and crinkle paper may create a memorable experience, but not in a good way. Meanwhile, the tissue paper groups who had positive memories of their unboxing experiences were much more likely than the void-fill groups to call out the packaging as a reason for that positive sentiment. In fact, respondents assigned an 8/10 rating to their likelihood to recommend and re-order from an eTailer if its packaging included tissue paper. All this is to say that better positive brand retention can translate into increased future purchases. The good news is that, even though tissue paper is among the least expensive components in packaging, it creates big branding value, further emphasizing how upgrading packing materials can lead to higher customer lifetime value.

Expand Reach via Social Media

Social media has become a common factor in the retail equation. A space that was once only used to connect with friends and family has become a vital step in the shopping process, from research through purchase, and even after shoppers buy products. The unboxing video trend has taken off in recent years, creating an opportunity for brands to reach more customers at a different and highly influential touchpoint. Through this medium, people can usurp the excitement of unpacking a product by watching a video of someone else do so. Upon watching an unboxing video, a viewer may be compelled to purchase from a featured brand to replicate the experience first-hand. Brands can, and do, encourage this phenomenon by giving consumers a reason to share pictures and videos of their purchases—another benefit bright, beautiful tissue paper affords. In fact, two out of three study participants said they’d be more likely to share a product on social media if it were wrapped in branded tissue paper. And when the tissue dons a brand’s logo, it ensures that any positive emotions are properly attributed.

Turning the typically mundane into an impressive, exciting experience is a smart way to win customers’ trust and attention. In a world where shoppers have a seemingly endless list of options for where to make purchases, remaining top-of-mind goes a long way toward edging out the competition. Download our white paper and infographic to learn how to help your brand stand out with enhanced packaging.

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