Packaging is more important than it may seem at first. In addition to grabbing consumers’ attention, providing information about the contents and enabling accurate delivery, it must protect the goods inside. When dealing with sensitive products like electronics, food or medical items, such protection has far-reaching consequences.

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Maintaining Customer Loyalty

The most obvious of these effects is that failing to protect products in transit results in a tarnished reputation. As many as 58% of consumers today won’t purchase from a business again if they receive a damaged order.

Even if a company offers free returns or full refunds, it’s hard to fight the impact of defective packaging. Shipping damage communicates — however subconsciously — that the brand does not care about the customer experience, only their money. Such feelings exist in the B2B space, too. Retailers are likely to partner with a 3PL with a reputation for care, as it shows they respect the other’s clientele.

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance

While no business wants to lose loyal customers, some industries face even more severe consequences from improper packaging. Heavily regulated items like food or medical products pose health and safety risks in the event of in-transit damage or spoilage. Consequently, such incidents can incur regulatory penalties.

The FDA requires food transport to use methods that do not negatively affect the food. While many of these are a matter of transportation — like using refrigerated trailers — protective packaging plays a role, too. Containers failing to prevent oxidation or humidity, for example, may cause products to expire early.

Similarly, electronics packaging must prevent battery-related hazards like shocks and fires. Anti-static bags and proper insulation for lithium-ion batteries fall under requirements like this.

Minimizing Costs

These regulatory and consumer concerns have a common secondary impact — financial losses. Noncompliance typically results in fines. Loss of customer loyalty leads to lost sales. The monetary consequences of poor packaging don’t end there, either.

Customer churn aside, returns cost U.S. retailers $743 billion in 2023. Even if a company can sell the same product again, they’ve wasted spending on at least two shipments — one to get it to the buyer and one to get it back. In many cases, a damaged product must go to scrap, meaning it also represents a waste of materials and manufacturing-related energy.

Unique Considerations for Sensitive Goods

In light of the expenses, it makes financial sense to spend money upfront on better packaging. Particularly sensitive goods often benefit from custom packaging to meet their unique needs. Made-to-order packages can be ready in as little as two to three days, providing additional protection without impacting shipping times too heavily.

What “protection” means will vary between items, so companies should consider what poses the biggest threats to each product. Insulating against physical shocks is crucial for anything fragile, but airtight packaging to prevent humidity and thermal insulation are more important for food. Electronics require anti-static bags and a separate compartment for lithium-ion batteries.

As businesses review these concerns, they should also apply laws or shipping rules from their 3PL. In many cases, tightly regulated products require certain labels to ensure safe shipping. Remember that such requirements can vary between locations and services. For example, the International Air Travel Association says lithium batteries must have a 30% charge at most to ship, whereas other bodies don’t share the same restrictions.

Since sensitive goods typically require a lot of material, organizations should consider sustainable alternatives to conventional packaging insulation. These include recycled corrugated cardboard, bioplastics, cornstarch and cellulose.

Businesses Must Use the Right Packaging for Their Products

A company must protect whatever items it sells. That means choosing the best packaging for the goods in question. Overlooking such concerns is a costly mistake. It can result in lost customers, regulatory issues and high expenses, so it’s best to prevent damage in the first place. The time and money it takes to ensure protective packaging will be worth it in the long run.