For health and beauty brands selling online, packaging has a lot to do. It needs to protect the product throughout its journey to the customer, minimise unnecessary materials and, increasingly, contribute to the overall brand experience.
This is particularly important for products such as skincare, cosmetics, fragrance and personal care, where the product itself can be delicate and presentation plays an important role in how customers perceive the brand.
Unlike products bought in-store, ecommerce purchases can pass through multiple stages of handling before they reach the customer. Health & beauty packaging therefore needs to provide reliable protection against the knocks, movement and pressure that can occur during fulfilment and delivery, while still being efficient to pack and practical to dispose of.
Getting that balance right can have a direct impact on the customer experience.
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How much does packaging contribute to health and beauty returns?
Research into the expectations of digital shoppers shows just how significant packaging can be when things go wrong.
The report Packaging and the Digital Shopper: Meeting Expectations in Health & Beauty, based on a survey of 3,000 health, beauty and personal care shoppers across North America, Western Europe and Asia, found that one-third of shoppers had returned, exchanged or requested a refund for a health, beauty or personal care product purchased online because of the packaging.
Of those packaging-related returns, 34% were attributed to a damaged product.
The research provides a useful insight into the relationship between packaging, product protection and the customer experience.
For a health and beauty brand, a damaged product can mean much more than the cost of replacing an individual item. There is the additional fulfilment and delivery involved in sending a replacement, the handling of the return and, perhaps most importantly, the possibility of a disappointed customer.
This makes the design of health & beauty packaging an important consideration for brands looking to reduce avoidable damage and returns.
Why health and beauty products need effective protection
Health and beauty products can be particularly demanding when it comes to ecommerce packaging. Skincare bottles, cosmetic palettes, jars, fragrance bottles and other beauty products may contain fragile components or need to arrive in pristine condition.
There is also the presentation to consider. A customer purchasing a premium beauty product online expects it to arrive looking the way it did when they placed the order. Damage to the product or its packaging can undermine that experience before they have even had the opportunity to use it.
One common way of addressing the risk is to add more protective material around the product. However, simply filling a large box with void fill isn't always the most efficient solution. The product can still move around inside the packaging, while the additional material increases the amount of packaging being used and can add to packing time.
A better approach is to consider how the packaging itself can help secure the product.
Breezebox®: retention packaging designed to protect products
Breezebox® is Lil Packaging's retention packaging solution, designed to hold products securely inside the box during transit.
Its integrated retention structure helps keep the contents in position, reducing unnecessary movement without relying on large quantities of loose void fill. This makes it particularly well suited to products where protection and presentation are both important.
For health and beauty brands, Breezebox® can help provide:
- Better protection during transit
- Reduced product movement
- Less reliance on void fill
- A more efficient packing process
- A cleaner, more considered unboxing experience
- Potentially fewer returns caused by transit damage
Rather than adding more materials around a product to prevent it moving, Breezebox® uses the structure of the packaging to help keep the product securely in place.
Breezebox® is now available to buy directly from the Lil Packaging website in three stock sizes, making retention packaging accessible to businesses that don't necessarily need a completely bespoke solution.
The three sizes are available in plain or custom printed options, giving brands the choice of a straightforward stock packaging solution or a more branded presentation.
For health and beauty businesses, custom printing can be particularly useful because the packaging becomes part of the customer experience. Instead of being something that simply protects the product during delivery, the outer box can reinforce the brand as soon as the customer receives their order.
Lil Crashlock: reduce the box to fit the product
Breezebox® isn't the only Lil Packaging solution that can help improve product protection. Another important consideration is the amount of space around the product.
Lil Crashlock features a variable-depth construction that allows the height of the box to be reduced around its contents. Multiple perforations allow the user to adjust the depth according to the product being packed, creating a closer and more secure fit.
This can be particularly useful for health and beauty brands shipping products in different sizes. Rather than using a large fixed-depth box for smaller products and filling the excess space with void fill, Crashlock can be adjusted to better suit the contents.
Reducing the height of the box leaves less unused space around the product, which means less room for it to move during transit. It also reduces the amount of unnecessary packaging space being transported with every order.
For businesses shipping products at scale, this can help improve packaging efficiency while supporting better product protection.
Protection without unnecessary packaging
Effective ecommerce health & beauty packaging isn't about using as much material as possible. It's about using the right packaging for the product and making that packaging work effectively.
A box that is too large can create unnecessary empty space, while a package that doesn't adequately secure its contents can increase the risk of damage. The challenge for brands is finding a solution that provides the protection their products need without simply adding more material.
Breezebox® and Lil Crashlock approach this challenge in different ways.
Breezebox® uses retention to hold the product securely within the box, reducing movement and the need for loose void fill. Crashlock allows the depth of the box to be adjusted around the contents, creating a closer fit and reducing unnecessary space.
Both solutions are designed to make the packaging itself part of the protection system.
Packaging is part of the customer experience
Protection is only one consideration for health and beauty brands. Packaging also influences how customers experience the product when it arrives.
The same digital shopper research found that 20% of shoppers had purchased a different brand or product because its packaging was better, while 28% said they had purchased a new product because they enjoyed the packaging.
This is particularly relevant to health and beauty, where packaging, presentation and brand identity are often closely connected. The ecommerce delivery is an extension of the customer's online shopping experience, so the packaging needs to deliver on the expectations created by the brand.
A product that arrives securely protected, in packaging that feels well considered and appropriate to its contents, can reinforce that experience rather than detract from it.
Choosing packaging that works harder
For health and beauty brands, reducing damage and returns doesn't necessarily require more protective material. It can require a better approach to packaging design.
For businesses looking to improve their ecommerce packaging, the objective is simple: protect the product, use packaging efficiently and give the customer the experience they expect from the brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is health and beauty packaging?
Health and beauty packaging protects products such as skincare, cosmetics, fragrance and personal care items during storage, fulfilment and delivery. For ecommerce brands, secondary packaging needs to provide protection while also being efficient to pack and dispose of.
How can packaging help reduce damage and returns?
Well-designed ecommerce packaging can reduce product movement and provide better protection against knocks and pressure during delivery. Packaging such as Breezebox® uses integrated retention to hold products securely, while variable-depth packaging such as Lil Crashlock can create a closer fit around different product sizes.
What is the best packaging for sending beauty products by post?
The right packaging depends on the product's size, shape, weight and fragility. Skincare bottles, cosmetics, fragrance and other beauty products can benefit from packaging that holds them securely and minimises movement, without relying on excessive void fill.
How can beauty brands reduce void fill in ecommerce packaging?
Choosing packaging that fits the product more closely is one of the simplest ways to reduce void fill. Retention packaging can hold products securely within the box, while variable-depth boxes can be adjusted to reduce excess space around different product sizes.
Why is packaging important to the health and beauty customer experience?
Packaging is part of the experience of receiving a beauty product, particularly for premium and luxury brands. It needs to protect the product in transit while presenting it well when it reaches the customer, helping to create a positive impression and avoid disappointment caused by damaged products.
