What are Consumer Packaged Goods?

Consumer Packaged Goods, (or CPGs), are products that are sold quickly at a relatively low cost. Just think of those household items with daily use such as beverages, paper products, non-perishable foods, cleaning supplies, etc. These items are shipped quickly and need to be restocked at home on a routine basis.

Consumer Packaged Goods - Ecommerce changes in packaging

CPGs are the next major category of products to be impacted by ecommerce. Less than 5% of current sales come from the ecommerce channel but it claims 40% of the growth in the near future. As a result, CPGs are faced with shipping direct to consumers to satisfy the demands of online marketplaces. Manufacturers of CPGs must continue to protect their investment in primary and secondary packaging as it makes it through the parcel network.

Packaging solutions for CPGs

In terms of the "unboxing experience" with Ecommerce, it's not about which packages stand out on the shelf. You don't even see the packages until they arrive at your door step, and by then it's too late. It's all about getting the products to your home, quickly and safely.

When it comes to Ecommerce packaging for consumer packaged goods, there's several products designed to help the ecommerce channel:

With the increase in Ecommerce purchases of Consumer Packaged Goods, manufacturers need to figure out the approach that best works for them. Do they focus on their primary packaging for in-store sales, or focus more on Ecommerce ready packaging? Ideally, they will choose a solution that works for both. Luckily there's several lines of packaging that protect products on both fronts.

Packaging solutions for consumer packaged goods

Cushioning Products

Packaging that is designed to cushion the products they protect highly useful in Ecommerce packaging. Air Pillow Systems are one of the best ways to cushion a product safely inside the box. These systems produce on-demand cushioning from air infused film. This is a go-to for many medium sized consumer packaged goods like beverages, fragile items. Don't let your products get damaged on the way to their final destination by using cushioning products to protect them. Want more? Check out "5 ways air pillow systems reduce packaging costs".

Bubble Packaging

Think back to the last time you ordered something small online, did you see any bubble packaging? Besides being one of the better DIY toys for your kids, (popping those bubbles always keeps them occupied), bubble is helpful for consumer packaged goods. Especially useful for those smaller items like household products and cosmetics, sometimes bubble can out right replace boxes. Bubble packaging comes in many forms, including bags and mailers. Placing your smaller items for shipment in bubble bags could cut your costs of your parcels.

Protective Mailers

Variety is the spice of mailers, or something like that. Mailers are probably one of the more well known ways to package for Ecommerce. For consumer packaged goods, mailers can be useful when packaging single products. Whether it's for health and beauty supplies, tools, or books, mailers eliminate the need for primary packaging completely. These products are also a cleaner alternative to other shipping materials that use a lot of plastic. Protective mailers come with a lining of bubble or other padding that protects agains damage.

Void Fill Products

It's no longer about packing peanuts, they should be a thing of the past. Now it's about paper packaging, inflatable films, and other void fill products. Many consumer packaged goods come shipped in a box with some kind of protective packaging. What ends up happening is that products get damage even when protected inside the box because of the space between the product and the box. If not properly secured, products can shift and be damaged during shipping. Void fill products like paper packaging eliminate that problem. They quite literally fill the void inside a box so products arrive safely. Learn more about one of the newest ways to use void fill: "Paper packaging solutions"

Consumer Packaged Goods through Ecommerce

Consumer behavior is changing, and with those changes is the continued rise of the Ecommerce channel. With annual U.S. sales of $1 trillion and continuing to grow, Ecommerce accounted for over $46 billion in 2018. The future is bright for Ecommerce; projected to be over $77 billion by 2020. This creates nearly endless aisles for consumers are more companies jump into the online game. Knowing the right way to package your consumer packaged goods for Ecommerce will equal success to your business in the future.

consumer packaged goods annual ecommerce sales

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