Black Friday will keep you busy. Running sales, managing teams and packing customer orders will be the focus of the day, leaving time for little else. But, there’s nothing quite like riding the adrenaline high of a successful sale, only to suffer the sting of your packaging supplies running out. And worse, discovering it’ll take days to stock up on more. That’s why preparation is so important—and why planning your Black Friday packaging is so essential. Here’s 8 packaging must-haves that’ll keep you soaring on the big day (and all the holiday shopping days to come!).
Corrugated Boxes
The indisputable mainstay. Most customer orders ship in some form of box, so stacking your supply shelves with these fellows is a must. When choosing exactly what kind of boxes you’ll need, consider the products you sell—their sizes, shapes and potential vulnerabilities. You don’t want wasted space, but you don’t want to crush your products either. Stock boxes, cube boxes and flat boxes are great choices.
We Suggest… Multi-Depth Boxes for accommodating products of varying sizes.
Carton-Sealing Tape
It takes time for a customer’s order to arrive on their doorstep, meaning there’s plenty of chances for a poorly-taped box to pop open and spill its contents. That’s a not good outcome for anyone, for sure. But it’s something you can mitigate with liberal use of quality packing tape. Always stock up on more than you think you’ll need—some employees can be especially tape-happy. And don’t forget to have tape dispensers on hand to speed up your packing efforts.
We Suggest… Water-Activated Tape for extra sealing strength and tamper-evident security.
Mailer Envelopes & Boxes
If you’re selling items that are smaller or easier to ship than others, you should take a good look at the world of mailer envelopes and boxes. Their smaller profiles use less packaging, maintain product protection, and reduce dimensional weight shipping costs. These are all boons when your products are smaller, flatter in profile, or can ship in groupings. Bubble mailers are particularly popular, though every mailer style has properties suited for various products.
We Suggest… Corrugated Mailers for protection of small, multiple or fragile items.
Bubble Cushion
Everybody knows this stuff: sheets full of little air-filled bubbles that cushion and protect items during shipping. As the most popular form of void fill, bubble cushion is vital for your packing efforts. You’ll want to stock up on plenty of it now so you’re not doing without it on the big day (you’ll also have plenty left over for celebratory popping after). It’s great for wrapping around items, filling up empty spaces, and ensuring no product smacks against another.
We Suggest… Dispenser Boxes for smaller volumes, Bubble Rolls for higher volumes.
Tissue Paper
It’s eye-catching, great to touch, and sounds awesome when you crinkle it up. Wrapped around customer orders, tissue paper provides protection from marring and scratching—and looks really, really good while doing it. Whether it’s white, black or brightly coloured, tissue paper creates an unwrapping experience that’s hard to beat. It’s no surprise that plenty of online stores have added it to their packaging choices.
We Suggest… Custom Tissue Paper for an eye-catching showcase of your brand.
Custom Packaging
If your packaging strategy is fully established and working well for you, you might want to consider branching out into the world of custom branded packaging. Every order a customer makes arrives on their doorstep in a corrugated box or a mailer envelope—but not every order arrives in a box or mailer decked out in your store’s logo and branding colours. If you’re looking for yet another way to stand out in the sea of kraft, custom packaging is where it’s at.
We Suggest… Custom Boxes to get your branded packaging efforts off to a gorgeous start.
Product-Specific Packaging
Shipping food or other perishables?
We Suggest… Insulated Packaging to prevent spoilage.
Shipping jewelry or small valuables?
We Suggest… Bubble Bags for cushioning protection.
Shipping electronics?
We suggest… Anti-Static Bubble or Foam Bags to prevent static discharge.
Entry-Level Automation
Saving time is just as important as saving money. Gathering products and packing customer orders takes time, especially when the sales keep rolling in. Finding ways to speed up your processes is always helpful, and entry-level automation can help with that. Powered or unpowered, mobile or mounted in place, this grouping of machinery can shave significant time off tagging products, sealing boxes, branding objects, and plenty more.
We Suggest… Tape Dispensers to help seal customer orders faster.
It’s imperative your Black Friday packaging is ready and raring to go. And if you’re anticipating sales increases, it’s a good rule of thumb to buy at least 10% more packaging than you think you’ll need. The Black Friday sales weekend tends to take even the most prepared businesses by surprise, and there’s no reason to doubt your online store’s potential for a stellar showing. Whether it’s corrugated boxes, packing tape, or custom branded packaging that you’re looking for, The Packaging Company is your Black Friday packaging partner.
