Don’t frustrate your customers! Keep it simple

I’m sure many of you know it all too well, you’ve finally gotten what you needed and you’re full of anticipation and impatient to see how it will work, look, or do you “just” want to simply unpack it and take it out of the package. But for this really “unpacking struggle” it is often necessary to equip yourself with scissors, a knife, pliers and other similar means.

Is it really necessary to use so much packaging material?

Even with quite simple logic and an average perception of the matter, we can evaluate that e.g. a USB handle wrapped in 5 times bigger plastic packaging is probably not the best solution. (Of course, there are products that, due to their individual nature, really cannot be packaged in any other way, such as medicines, fragile items, etc.). Firstly, this is a real inconvenience from the point of view of the end customer and secondly, it puts a huge strain on the environment.

However, one of the biggest online retailers in the world, Amazon, is also aware of this problem. Mr Herrington, Amazon’s vice-president for consumer goods, says that he himself has a problem with the unpacking of products from so much packaging. He also claims that if you opt for a typical online purchase, there will be a huge amount of packaging waiting for you with a ton of work. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos himself says the same: “We’ve all experienced the frustration of trying to remove a product from nearly impenetrable packaging, such as plastic boxes and products bound by dozens of wire ties.”

But Amazon is taking action, and for the past two years has been grappling with the difficult task of getting manufacturers to adopt “Frustration-Free Packaging” to rid their products of unnecessary packaging. At the same time, this would also solve their biggest source of complaints from customers who are frustrated with unpacking unnecessary packaging from products. But at the moment, the frustration persists because only about 600 of the millions of products Amazon sells are also in the “frustration-free” version.

What is the essence of “Frustration-Free Packaging”?

If a company is really interested in eliminating this serious problem, it needs to recognize the fact that packaging products can be done sensibly and in line with sustainable marketing. If we remove the barriers that consumer society puts in front of us every second, sooner or later we will fully identify with Frustration-Free Packaging. This system is designed to prevent the waste of packaging material and also to prevent the resulting frustration of customers. The seller should strive for the complete satisfaction of his customer.

Same product, better packaging

New adopters of this concept may initially be a little uncertain and worried about whether their product will be sufficiently packaged and whether they will lose any of the parts they have purchased. However, all these negative barriers need to be broken only by a rational approach, because we can fill the bin in other ways…
Manufacturers who have embraced Frustration-Free Packaging are packaging the same products that you might find on the shelves of a regular store in a style that is much more sophisticated.

What does this look like in practice?

The first products to be packaged in this way came from a company making toys for children. Fisher – Price Imaginext Adventures Pirate Ship. It is the toys that are usually packaged as an extra logic puzzle. First you have to figure out how to open the nice and colorful packaging and get the toy itself out. If you happen to have children around who want to play right away, you need to arm yourself with iron patience and prepare to cry, you won’t unwrap this toy easily. The packaging that will come home to you is a box within a box, the toy is attached with plastic cables and secured with a variety of packaging. Amazon has eliminated all of this, and instead of a puzzle, you get a simple box that the product comes directly packaged in, with no unnecessary waste and no need for a long unboxing process.

Image source: www.images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com

Don’t customers just want our pretty packaging?

Of course, nice and eye-catching packaging sells, but if it’s not functional and is downright unfriendly to customers, people will get frustrated. The success of this initiative is evidenced by the many reviews from people on Amazon who are excited about this innovation. Companies such as Philips, Polaroid, Procter & Gamble, Bounty, Tide, Duracell, and many others have started using this simple packaging method. It was Duracell that caused a stir with their simplified flashlight packaging, and people have become very fond of this system.

Image source: www.sustainableisgood.com

Easy unpacking, less environmental impact and a stronger market position

Customers who receive your goods with simple and easy to access packaging will no longer be frustrated and will be able to use the product immediately. Another benefit is saving the environment and you can take pride in the fact that your business is more eco-friendly and not polluting our planet. But how can a simple packaging change amplify your position in the market? If you are a seller on Amazon and you are also the direct manufacturer or official distributor of a product, using “Frustration-Free Packaging” will give you a big advantage over other sellers. Non-authorized sellers will not be able to get verification to send such packages and thus their position will automatically be lower. Customers have already learnt the system that companies that send packages without annoyance-free packaging are authorized companies and they can always count on receiving the original product.

Even if you don’t sell products on Amazon, their frustration-free easy packaging system can be a great inspiration for you. People have loved this unboxing, as evidenced by the many positive reviews. There’s nothing easier than implementing a system already proven by experience. You can test the accessibility of your packaging on a test sample of people by A/B testing. Try giving even just your acquaintances an unboxing of the original original packaging and the new simplified packaging. People’s speed of unboxing and frustration will be measurable indicators of customer satisfaction for you on initial contact with the product.

Simpler packaging = happy customers

If your customers have a negative first contact with the product and take an unreasonable amount of time to unpack the product, don’t expect them to buy from you again. First impressions apply not only when meeting new people, but also when unpacking products. So bet on simplicity without unnecessary special and protective packaging that prevents people from using the products quickly. Products that can be unpacked in seconds and then used straight away will clearly be a success. It is not for nothing that it is said that there is beauty in simplicity.