How to spend your e-commerce budget even smarter in 2019?

Improving your customer experience? Keeping your transport costs under control? Challenges that are probably on your mind for 2019. In this blog post, we go over some tips that will help you spend your e-commerce budget even smarter. We focus on 5 areas for improvement, taking into account consumer expectations and challenges in the logistics sector.

Optimise your e-commerce budget in five steps

► 1. Personalise your packaging

Packaging is often the first image a customer has of your brand. It therefore pays to add a personalised message to that packaging. Just to thank the customer for their purchase, for example, or to put a broad smile on their face. And as you know, a satisfied customer is also a customer who returns more often.

How do you proceed?

► Add a flyer: for example, choose a message to encourage people to share their positive experiences on social media. Or give them an exclusive promo code to create more brand engagement. Personalising your flyer with the client’s name is also a nice idea but is already a bit more complex.

► Add colourful tissue paper: textile and luxury goods web shops are using tissue paper more and more. It immediately brightens up dull packaging. It is best to use the colours of your house style.

Personalise your tape: almost everyone closes a box with tape. So why not use personalised tape? You can give your brand more visibility or add an extra call-to-action. Let the creative ideas run wild!

► Personalise your labels: for those who want to be extra frugal with their e-commerce budget, labels are a good choice. Simply stick them on the inside or outside of your packaging and inexpensively create a box with a little extra.

► Personalise your boxes: boxes are the extension of the customer experience in a shop. They are a kind of ‘ambassadors’ of your brand. Some brands even add a light fragrance so that the experience of opening the box subconsciously stays with them and identifies them. The key to success is to bet on these kinds of details.

► 2. Research sustainable packaging alternatives

Consumers are increasingly consciously choosing sustainable packaging. The popularity of hashtags such as #0Waste, #Unboxing or #ExcessivePackaging make it clear that companies need to learn to handle their packaging differently. Fortunately, these days you can find a sustainable alternative for almost any type of packaging.

• Reduce or replace common plastic packaging with, for example, kraft paper or paper cushions.
• Want to be original? Then the Geami WrapPak is a solution that adds absolute value to your business. With it, you create paper protection with the same advantages and applications as plastic bubble wrap.

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► 3. Keep your transport costs under control

Transport is one of a logistics manager’s most important expenditure items. To best control transport costs, you need to reduce both the weight and volume of your packaging:

• Everything starts with analysing your most frequent orders and order sizes. This will help you know which box sizes are best suited to your top products
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• It is also advisable to purchase a box with variable fill height. You adjust this type of box completely to the size of your product. The closer the box fits around the product, the less volume your packaging will take up and the lighter it will be.
• Can’t find the perfect box? No worries! Use this box search engine.

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► 4. Improve your customer experience

More and more consumers are buying online. However, that does not mean that the buying and ordering process is 100% digital. It often ends with the delivery of your parcel. Opening that parcel is a crucial moment for any e-commerce business. It represents a customer’s last and most important point of contact with your brand. As such, you need to pull out all the stops to make this as smooth as possible:

• Facilitate opening: use boxes with tear-open perforations, for example.
• Facilitatereturns: 90% of internet users are willing to buy again on a site with an easy return policy. Return boxes are the ideal solution to make your customer’s life a lot more pleasant.
• Avoid oversized boxes with lots of padding (a source of much annoyance for the average consumer). Instead, opt for a box with variable fill height that fits more closely around your product.

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► 5. Boost the productivity of your packers

Warehousemen and packers… they are the cornerstone of your business. For increased productivity, it is crucial to invest your e-commerce budget in solutions where workplace ergonomics plays a key role:

• Provide ergonomic solutions for your staff and give them tailor-made work materials.
• If your packers have to prepare more than 50 packages per day, it pays to invest in packaging machines and automated processes for your order picking. Your packers will have to perform less repetitive work as a result.
• Regularly check and replace your racking, rolling stock and so on. With work equipment in perfect condition, you will achieve maximum productivity.