Customers are bombarded with advertisements from signs, displays, packaging, tags, and more the second they enter a store. Standing out on the retail shelves surrounded by competition requires a well-craft, eye-catching retail packaging box.
A retail display box is just one way to show off your products, and it allows you more space for marketing messages. When used well, retail display boxes help products look more appealing on shelves and make products easier to ship. Printing directly on the box itself gives your brand different surfaces for important information like images, brand messaging, logos, ingredients, directions, or price.
Having your logo directly on your product can be difficult for some products, and even when you can incorporate the logo—it’s not necessarily bold in order to avoid affecting the product’s design or being overly-forward with the logo. Your retail packaging is the perfect place for your logo to help with brand recognition without upsetting product design.
Retail boxes are also useful places for other information, such as special promotions, your brand’s social media accounts and hashtags, contact information if customers have questions, or other special information like the product’s formula, contents, or directions for assembly and use.
When products aren’t encased in individual packaging, you increase the risk of damage or exposure during shipping and handling. Retail boxes keep products safe and clean during transit, whether they’re being shipped in a large order from warehouse to store or shipped in individual orders directly to customers. If your products will be on retail shelves, packaging can protect the product from accidental damage by shoppers or stockers.
A good retail display box highlights your product and brand while being eye-catching to customers looking through full shelves. Here are some tips to designing your own retail packaging box:
Consumers are asking for it, and it’s just good business! Packaging and boxes that are made responsibly and easy to recycle are more than a trend. They help take care of our planet and protect valuable resources.
Beyond using recycled, sustainably sourced cardboard for boxes, there are other ways you can be environmentally conscious in your packaging for your small business. For example, “right sizing” your boxes to minimize the amount of material needed (including filler) is a great way to reduce your impact. If you manage your own shipping, such as an artisan or artist selling on Etsy, consider having a dedicated day of the week to drop off packages and conserve the fuel used to take orders to your shipping partner.
At DIYPack, our boxes are made with 60% or more post-consumer products, and we utilize the steam from the paper plant to power our corrugator to minimize waste and emissions. Learn more about our commitment to sustainability.
When designing your retail packaging box, choose colors that will pop in the store environment while still complimenting your brand. If your products are shipping directly to customers, a packaging box should still be eye-catching to enhance the unboxing experience.
Using color palettes that are trending can help grab the attention of your customers, especially if your target customer is younger and watching trends. On the other hand, utilizing more classic color palettes will attract an older audience, and bright, highly saturated colors will grab the attention of children.
When printing on cardboard, you can utilize high-quality imagery such as photographs or digital artwork to make your boxes stand out. This gives you plenty of opportunities to think outside the box on the art of your packaging. Cardboard is easy to print on and cost-effective, and so long as your artwork or photographs have a high resolution (we recommend 300ppi or higher), they show up clearly and beautifully printed on cardboard
Don’t get overly complex. Keep your message clear and simple to influence the consumer and not overwhelm them. Too much messaging might cause them to just block the product mentally so they don’t feel overwhelmed. Keep the detailed, smaller text on the back, bottom, or sides of the box.
A retail packaging box does give you more room for branding and messaging, but don’t go overboard. Keep your overall message focused and clear to make an impression on the customer and persuade them to buy. Too much messaging or content on your retail boxes could overwhelm a customer and cause them to put the product down instead of into their basket. Avoid small, detailed text on the front and top of the box, and stick to the back, bottom, or sides of the box, for more detailed information.
When designing a retail box, you should know who you are trying to attract as customers—as well as your competition on the shelves. Get to know your best customers and understand what they like and need in product packaging, and get a good feel of what your competitors are doing (or what they’re not) to design an appealing box that sets your brand apart.
Custom packaging boxes might sound like a budget buster, but you don’t have to break the bank to have a custom box for your products. With DIYPack, you can design your own boxes through our online studio. When you design a box yourself, you don’t have to worry about missing the mark on your branding or improper use of your logo.
Our online studio is easy to use and allows you to design every surface of the box, upload your own images or edit pre-designed templates, and custom sizing for each of our box styles. With no order minimums, you can order a single box as a sample, or order in smaller amounts for trail runs, special promotions, or testing purposes.
Create a retail packaging box that stands out, appeals to your customers, and protects your products. Let’s get started: