Talking Shop
Free Shipping. Is it unsustainable?
Free Shipping or postage is a common tool used throughout retail and on e commerce websites. We use it on Stornish to encourage customers to place larger orders. The reality is, that nothing much is free. With increased energy costs, how can companies continue to offer this sales incentive? A damaged product in transit is a costly problem. Is the culture of offering these sales incentives unsustainable?
Packaging is very underrated. Great packaging design can elevate the product. The best packaging transports the goods from one place to another. Protects the contents and then gets recycled or even, dare I say it, reused. It’s easy to send a item of clothing through the post – it won’t get damaged but try sending expensive glassware.
Compare the opposite. Where packaging has become a superficial luxury and wasteful. Destined for the waste bin as soon as its home. Perfume retailers are guilty of this, branding trumping function.
Thinking about packaging in more detail – everyone loves to get a parcel in the post. The act of unwrapping a gift is wonderful and the trend is to package products as personal gifts. Japanese retail takes this to an art form, they even wrap book front covers for privacy. Anyone who’s come across the work of Artist – Mr Bingo will delight, (or not) in his notorious hate mail series. Adorned with iconic imagery & personal doodles. Elevating the humble parcels into art forms in themselves. One of his customers collects his art un-opened in the hope that when he dies, it will be more valuable.
Unwrapping an Apple product is a ritual. The unboxing is part of the glamour of the brand ‘experience’. This, modern T&C’s and eBay culture have led to the rise of the ‘Box Keeper’. People who can’t throw the box away, their Attics and spare rooms – full of empty boxes.
We’ve become complacent about packaging and the cost of transporting the goods we buy. In energy conscious times, the value of packaging and the costs of delivery should be clear and open.
We’ve become complacent about packaging and the cost of transporting the goods we buy. In energy conscious times, the value of packaging and the costs of delivery should be clear and open.
Japanese book - intricatly wrapped in deocrative paper to maintain the privacy of the reader.
Sticker by Mr Bingo for the packaging of his artworks.
Mr Bingo artwork packaging.
Free Shipping
