Discreet packaging: when the best packaging is the one that goes unnoticed

In the RAJA® Blog we have often talked about the importance of using personalisedpackaging for your brand, and how it helps you to build customer loyalty, raise awareness of your business and sell more. However, there are times when using customised packaging, envelopes and boxes is counterproductive, and the user appreciates receiving their order in a simple, austere package that does not give clues about the products it contains. The need to opt for discreet packaging or discreet packaging becomes necessary.

what is discreet packaging?

Discreet packaging is packaging whose external appearance does not give any indication of its contents. It is characterised by a sober presentation, the absence of references to the brand or the type of items being transported, and a generic morphology that does not reveal the silhouette or volumes of the objects included.

Offering the delivery of your products in discreet packaging can be the decisive element in the decision to buy. There are consumers who, for this reason alone, are willing to choose an e-commerce site over other competing online shops. Especially if:

• The order is a gift or a surprise, and we do not want the recipient to find out before the time.
• We do not plan to pick it up in person.
• The destination address is not the usual home address, but a neighbour’s or relative’s house, a pick-up point or the place of work.

In these cases, personalised packaging could ruin the shopping experience, whereas discreet packaging will meet the customer’s expectations 100%.

when to use discreet packaging?

For intimate or cultural reasons, or simply because of our own privacy preferences, there are products that we do not mind receiving in packaging that communicates the image of the brand or the shop where we have made our purchase. However, there are others whose purchase we would like to keep secret or share only with our closest sphere. Within this list we could enumerate items such as:

• Accessories for personal image care, such as wigs, hairpieces or hair extensions.
• Intimate hygiene products, such as soaps and gels, sanitary towels, tampons, menstrual cups or absorbent pads.
• Underwear and lingerie.
• Sexual products, such as condoms or erotic toys.
• Health, herbal and parapharmacy articles, including food supplements, prostheses, girdles, creams, lotions, pregnancy tests, etc.
• Nutritional supplements, with packs of products to lose weight, to gain muscle mass or to make up for deficiencies in the body.
• Jewellery, watches, precious metals.

These are the categories of products most likely to benefit from the use of discreet packaging for shipment, but we must bear in mind that each person is different and therefore the boundary between public and private varies for each individual.

By this we mean that discreet packaging should not be restricted to one type of order, but rather facilitated as an option within the user’s purchasing process, whether they choose to pay by card, cash on delivery or Paypal; or to receive their parcel at a postal address, at a collection point or in a locker.

Let’s think about a simple example: We have purchased a party dress from an exclusive online boutique. If we plan to pick it up in person and at home, seeing it arrive in eye-catching packaging will be part of an overall rewarding experience. However, if the delivery takes place in the office, we prefer to keep the product away from prying eyes and enjoy a private unboxingin private.

what materials should I use for discreet packaging?

To ensure good discreet packaging from your e-commerce, it’s key to stock your warehouse with plain cardboard boxes (brown or white) and envelopes and shipping bagshowever, the fact that your packages do not advertise your brand on the outside does not mean that they cannot communicate its values from the inside. We are referring to:

• Add your printed logo or some other element of your corporate image to the inside of the box.
• Incorporate details that make a difference, as we explained in our post on the 8 keys to the perfect e-commerce shipping package. Some ideas? Samples of complementary products, a discount code for the next purchase or a handwritten thank you note.

You may be thinking that discreet packaging clashes head-on with the advice to reduce the volumetric weight to save on your shipments. After all, to conceal the outline of an object, you need a container that allows it to travel comfortably. In this matter, as in almost everything, we will find the virtue in the middle ground: we must try to ensure that our packages do not reveal what they contain, but at the same time take up as little space as possible inside the delivery vehicles.

if you are looking for packaging products to offer your own discreet packaging, you can count on RAJA®! We have more than 4,000 items always in stock and our 24/48h delivery service ensures that your order preparation processes will never be interrupted!