Store Packaging vs Shipping Packaging: 10 Important Differences

When designing packaging for your product, it’s important to consider whether you will be selling your product in a physical store or whether you will be selling it online for home delivery. Store packaging vs shipping packaging both have very different purposes and so need to be designed differently. This post explores these differences to help you design the best packaging in either case. 

Product Visibility

Store packaging is typically designed to visually showcase the product. This could be in the form of a cut-out, a transparent plastic window or photograph on the front. This helps customers clearly identify the product they are buying, as well as building trust that the product is what it says it is.

When it comes to shipping packaging, product visibility is not as necessary. Instead customers rely on photographs on the seller site or app. Keeping the product hidden from view can be important for discretion (such as ordering a gift) and can also prevent theft of valuable items during delivery. Shipping packaging may instead be designed to create suspense when opening by hiding it behind multiple layers – adding excitement to the 

Color

Bold colors can be used to help store packaging stand out on the shelf. By looking into the psychology of different colors, it’s possible to use certain colors to have different emotional impacts. Blue is associated with calm, while red is an energizing color. White is associated with purity and newness, while black is often used to exude a sense of luxury.

Shipping packaging typically does not need to be brightly colored, because it is not designed to attract attention. Most shipping packaging is made from unfinished brown or white cardboard. However, some companies buck this trend. 

Graphics

You’re likely to find eye-catching graphics on store packaging. The amount of graphics can vary depending on who the consumer is. Kids’ products are typically covered in fun imagery with playful logos and potentially even a brand mascot on the front. Luxury products aimed at adults are more likely to go with a minimalist approach to showcase a sense of sophistication, but are likely to still display a striking logo for creating brand awareness.

Many companies avoid any kind of graphics on their shipping packaging to maintain a sense of discretion. However, a growing number of companies have started to experiment with custom boxes with logos and patterns on the side as a way of improving first impressions – a plain box may reduce excitement and quality expectations, while a custom box can signal professionalism and build suspense. 

Information

A lot of product information has to be printed on store packaging by law – including the product name, ingredients, storage conditions and the net quantity. The more information that is placed on packaging, the more trusting the customer is likely to be. Adding certain information can also help legally protect you against accidents and injuries – such as recommended age ratings and allergy warnings.

All of this information does not need to be printed on shipping packaging because it is instead presented to the customer on the website before they purchase the product. The only information that does need to be included on shipping packaging is address and customer information so that it can be shipped to the right place. 

Protection

All forms of packaging need to be robust and protective enough to stop the product getting damaged in transit – even store packaging needs to be shipped to the store and then taken home by the customer. However, store packaging can get away with exposing the product a little more – additional packaging may be possible to use for shipping to the store. Items like wine bottles for example do not need to be placed inside cases unless you’re trying to create a sense of luxury. That said, even wine bottles need to be robust enough to roll around in the back of a customer’s car without breaking.

Shipping packaging has to be more robust because it often has to withstand a longer journey and may be roughly handled by people along the way. Loose products need to be well cushioned using filler materials like bubble wrap, shredded paper or void fill chips. The card used for the box meanwhile needs to be fairly durable and have a degree of water protection in case it is left outdoors somewhere in the rain during transit. 

Size

Store packaging can come in a variety of sizes. Smaller packaging may help a product to be more easily displayed on a variety of store shelves, however it is not always important as many stores have spaces available for larger products. Generally speaking, products should be packaged in a way that makes them compact enough to be easily transported in a customer’s car. Of course, this may not always be possible with certain appliances or furniture unless it is designed to be assembled at home.

Smaller packaging can be more of a priority when shipping items as size can affect shipping costs. When it comes to smaller items, packaging them so that they can be posted through a mailbox could reduce the need to get a signature, helping to speed up delivery. 

Shape

Playing around with creative shapes is more of an option with store packaging. In fact, it could help a product to stand out from its competitors. Just make sure that a product has a stable enough base to stand on a shelf.

Shipping packaging tends to be more uniform in shape, usually taking the form of a cuboid box. This makes it easier to handle. Soft parcel-style packaging may be possible to use for some products, but needs to still be robust enough to withstand transit.

Weight

Store packaging can vary in weight. Some luxury products are deliberately packaged in heavier packaging to make them feel more valuable (such as using a metal cookie tin instead of a cardboard box), but generally all products are designed to be light enough for customers to pick up off a shelf.

Shipping packaging often needs to be as light as possible as the weight of a product can affect the cost of shipping. As a result, materials like cardboard are almost exclusively used, unless you’re transporting something very fragile or valuable. 

Cost

Most companies try to keep costs low for store packaging, but there are some companies that like to spend a little extra to make their product look more valuable or unique. Perfume companies for example may spend more money per item on packaging than they do on the actual contents in order to make a product more elegant and alluring. 

Cutting costs is much more important when it comes to shipping packaging. Using cheaper packaging can reduce shipping fees for the customer. Using visibly expensive packaging materials may also encourage theft, and so is generally avoided. 

Sustainability 

Sustainability is important with all forms of modern packaging. A growing number of companies are moving away from plastic store packaging and shifting to cardboard or paper. That said, some companies still like to use plastic for its transparency in the form of clear plastic windows, lids or bags. Such plastics are typically recyclable.

Companies are more likely to avoid plastic packaging in shipping packaging. Because shipping products already takes a toll on the environment, anything that companies can do to offset this is important, and choosing sustainable materials like cardboard is an effective way to do this. Some companies do still use plastic parcels, but they are more commonly being replaced by paper parcels. 

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