Packaging Shortcomings Dampen E-Commerce Appetite
DS Smith, a leading provider of sustainable, fiber-based packaging, reveals in a new representative survey that more than half of the people in Germany intend to spend more time at home due to the rising cost of living. These stays are to be embellished with „comfort purchases.“ Four out of ten say they will spend their money on small luxuries instead of going out.
The data also shows that the trend toward convenience shopping in e-commerce is accompanied by an increased risk of damaged deliveries. Overall, nearly 76 percent of online shoppers say they have already had a damaged item delivered at some point. Last year alone, more than half (53 percent) of online shoppers in Germany received a damaged package. Most of the complaints in the survey were that the package had been crushed due to lack of stability, causing damage to the product inside.
On average, online shoppers estimate that the damaged goods received have a value of around 61 euros. 45 percent of online shoppers who have received damaged parcels are annoyed, disappointed (32 percent) and irritated (26 percent). Four out of ten consumers (37 percent) also say they would hesitate to buy from a retailer or online store again if a product arrived damaged.
No one wants to receive damaged goods, and the shift in shopping behavior toward more and smaller, feel-good purchases shows how important it is for packaging to meet the extensive requirements of the e-commerce supply chain, explaines Thomas Müller, Head of E-Commerce Germany and Switzerland at DS Smith. „That way, customers aren’t disappointed, and retailers don’t have to bear the cost of replacing items.“
DS Smith specializes in developing and optimizing sustainable and recyclable packaging solutions for online retail. „One of the things we’ve found is that the answer lies not in more packaging, but in smarter packaging that is precisely tailored to specific needs, while also bringing the lowest possible environmental impact. A perfect example of this is omnichannel-ready packaging that enables shipping in the product packaging, thus optimally protecting not only the product, but also the resources and brand used for it.“
