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eCommerce packaging trends for 2024 and beyond: how consumers feel and what society needs

eCommerce packaging trends for 2024 and beyond: how consumers feel and what society needs

Insights Products & Solutions eCommerce

19 March, 2024

A man and a woman unpacking items from corrugated boxes

The substantial report on Key eCommerce trends and consumer attitudes to packaging released by Mondi in 2024, which is based on a survey of 6,000 customers across Europe and Turkey, contains important findings that all eCommerce retailers should take note of.

As a yearly publication, this fifth edition includes an additional 1,000 consumers with more in-depth insights and a desire to provide eCommerce brands with key information on how they can best meet the needs of consumers. The study covers six major European markets: Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Turkey.

Mondi Group’s eCommerce Director, Nedim Nisic, states: “We felt compelled to share more than just packaging trends this time to shed light on spending habits, shopping frequency, social commerce use, and behaviour related to recycling and reuse, among other things. The result is a treasure trove of data useful for every eCommerce company, not only those trying to satisfy consumers' packaging demands but to influence the entire experience. We also wanted to promote collaboration among the packaging industry, eCommerce platforms, and other key stakeholders to meet consumer expectations and sustainability efforts. Success hinges on packaging agility and collaborative efforts.”

Emerging trends and newer insights include what’s happening around social commerce, as well as recommerce but overall, the report looks at four key areas:

Consumer shopping behaviour
Attitudes towards packaging and unboxing experiences
Perceptions and behaviours towards recycling and reusing
Future of eCommerce packaging in 2024 and beyond

A man and a woman unpacking items from a corrugated box. The image title reads Annual eCommerce trend report 2024

Trend no.1: Social commerce becoming mainstream and shopping fashion is still an online favourite

When you consider statistical significance, one of the biggest findings we saw is that nearly half (44%) of consumers have bought via social commerce in the last 12 months. This is not surprising considering how popular these channels are and how much time consumers spend on them. Social commerce is predicted to surpass $1 trillion globally in 2023 and two billion consumers are expected to shop on a social media platform.^{^[1]}

Based on our survey, Facebook and Instagram account for the majority of social commerce purchases, while TikTok ranks at 20%. It appears that Instagram is regaining audiences from their well-known, fierce competitor, TikTok. This could be a fascinating insight for retailers as they determine how to allocate their budgets among the various channels. Articles, like those featured on Insider Intelligence have made it clear that eCommerce brands will compete for control of the social commerce space.

Overall, Millennials and Gen Z are buying through these channels, whereas older generations are more likely to buy through Facebook. This younger cohort also demonstrates that they spent most of their money on fashion products (approximately 60%) in the last 12 months, compared to cosmetics, grooming, sports and leisure, technology, and homeware, which all sit between 30-40%.

Already, major eCommerce retail brands are experimenting, for example, Amazon have partnered with Meta to make it easier for users to purchase goods without leaving Facebook or Instagram.

Trend no.2: Cheaper prices, saving time and home delivery should be part of the standard shopping experience

While the frequency of shopping has fallen compared to last year as consumers look to cut their spending budgets in the cost-of-living crisis, the results showed a third (38%) of consumers across the six countries had no change in their online shopping habits. Yet, more than a quarter are shopping online as they look to potentially hunt down better value or cheaper prices.

Millennials and Gen Z consumers are once again more likely to be shopping online compared to older generations (30% and 26%, respectively.)

Yet, it appears, Gen X are the most cost-conscious consumers, with 50% choosing cheaper prices compared to 42% Millennials and 37% Gen Z.

Aside from discovering more affordable options, the most significant reasons to shop online are the time and effort saved and the convenience of having products delivered straight to one's home.

Online retailers should continually look to optimise the buying experience, where it becomes more seamless and easier for consumers to purchase products online, especially in conjunction with Trend no.1, partnering or working best with social media channels.

Trend no 3: Sustainable solutions for online retail and protective packaging remain a priority

Unsurprisingly, 88% of customers ranked the quality of the packaging and the protection it provided as a priority when it came to packaging. The ability to easily reseal the package for return shipment was also ranked by one-third of customers, with between 60-70% ranking environmentally friendly packaging and sustainability as being “important” or very “important.” The results are consistent across the countries, although it appears the sustainability factor is most important for Boomers, followed by the younger generations.

What does this mean for retailers?

While one-third of respondents across all age groups and nations consider easily resealable packaging to be very important, the survey delves further into regional differences; for instance, it reveals that Turkish consumers are the most demanding in this regard, with nearly half of respondents rating it as important. This goes hand in hand with sturdy packaging that will not rip easily and is simple to return or reuse, both of which add to customers' sense of satisfaction and commitment to sustainability.

Another area that is experiencing quick growth is recommerce markets. Vinted, the biggest European online international C2C marketplace, saw a reported 51% increase in revenue for 2022 compared to 2021. And this may mean consumers would like to reuse packaging from previously bought goods for their reselling activities. The full report dives deeper into recommerce trends and activities, including the barriers to recommerce.

Retailers ought to invest time in high-quality paper materials and tailor-made packaging that fits the right quota for high-performance packaging without compromising sustainability.

Trend no 4: Thoughtful packaging in online shopping means the unboxing experience should be considered

For eCommerce retailers, what exactly does "smart packaging" imply?

Paper quality, ability to easily re-seal, and recyclable content are just a few of the many considerations; however, the unboxing experience is a crucial part of the buying experience.

It’s that moment of joy as soon as the customer receives their package. How well your products are packaged determines both the first impression (for new customers) and the consistent quality experience (for repeat customers). Repeat business is possible after a positive experience, but "overpackaging" is a major contributor to bad experiences and is cited as the biggest annoyance. The survey shows that nearly half (47%) of consumers would be put off buying again if there was too much packaging.

As an eCommerce online retailer in 2024, for smarter packing solutions, you can eliminate other “annoyances” included in the unboxing experience:

Excessive internal packaging material
Packaging that is hard to recycle
Packaging that is difficult and unpleasant to open
Packaging that is unattractive
Packaging that is hard to store and reuse

The future of eCommerce Packaging

When it comes to the future of eCommerce packaging, understanding the consumer's post-order behaviour and package disposal habits is just as important as the experience of receiving it.

Since sustainability is a top future packaging demand for consumers, this survey provides additional insight into their level of knowledge and willingness to take action regarding packaging waste.

The packaging material itself can influence what consumers do with it after receiving their products. For example, a surprising finding is that nearly half,47% of Boomers say they are most likely to put their packaging in a recycling bin, compared to just under a third (32%) of Gen Z. The younger generation is more likely not to recycle, putting things in general waste, but is this because they’re the ones buying clothing more often, which tends to come in plastic packaging?

Investing in more sustainable packaging instead of plastic mailer bags could be a step in the right direction for an online fashion company trying to fulfil their net-zero aims and change the way younger generations perceive and use packaging.

Findings also show the barriers and reasons consumers do not regularly recycle packaging. The second most popular reason is that they are “not sure what’s recyclable” (29%) and in terms of reuse, 40% cite that “what I receive is generally not suitable for reuse.”

This suggests that online retailers should have a larger role in informing, educating, and encouraging consumers on how to dispose of their waste, reuse, or recycle it.

Solutions can be in the form of print copy on the packaging itself with easily understood steps, a one-page leaflet with innovative ideas on reusing the packaging, or blog posts to educate. For example, leading meal kit delivery service, Gousto, has this “How to Recycle” blog and “5 Ways to Reuse” blog.

Additionally, many retailers have a social and environmental responsibility now to ensure their products and packaging are designed in such a way that they can be physically disposed of in a compostable way, recycled, or reused. It is as much a regulatory response as it is a response to consumer demands. In addition to satisfying sustainability requirements from the standpoint of consumer expectations and an authentic and ethical commitment to environmental stewardship, the entire value chain and all suppliers can collaborate with brands and retailers to guarantee comprehensive compliance.

Last but not least, more than half of consumers (58%) say they expect nearly all of their parcels to be delivered in compostable or recyclable packaging, which speaks to the barrier outlined in trend number four, where packaging is seen as hard to recycle.

Overall, the future of eCommerce packaging has a substantial focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly packaging without compromising paper quality, protection capabilities, or the overall unboxing experience.

In that regard, Mondi aspires to help our customers achieve all of those goals. We are a sustainable, innovative, and scalable packaging solutions provider.

Sustainability is in our DNA and we provide bespoke designs, ensuring your products are well protected and satisfy your customer’s every need. The gift of joy in unboxing, reusing, or recycling is easily met with our years of experience, thorough research, and our award-winning innovative capabilities.

^{^[1]} Source: Deloitte Insights, As Seen in Your Feed, Shopping Goes Social, Trending Passed US $1 Trillion in Annual Sales, 30 November 2022