NEW research from Macfarlane Packaging has highlighted the increased expectations from consumers around sustainable packaging when buying goods online.
The firm has revealed the results of its 9th annual unboxing survey, which encourages consumers to share their experiences and views on the packaging used by online retailers.
The 2024 survey found that 76% of consumers across the UK expect online shopping deliveries to be sustainably packaged as standard – a significant increase on the 47% reported last year. Macfarlane said returnable packaging could be a trend for online retailers to consider as 89% of respondents revealed they are willing to return packaging to retailers for reuse. However, 61% said they would only do so if the retailer covers the cost of the packaging return.
Results also revealed that only 58% of packages were branded, which Macfarlane said remains a ‘missed opportunity’ for retailers, with 56% of online shoppers indicating that branded packaging would encourage a repeat purchase.
Overall, 79% of consumers said they were happy with their unboxing experiences. Where consumers expressed dissatisfaction, reasons included too much plastic use; product arriving damaged; inappropriate packaging sizing for the product; and issues with couriers leaving deliveries outside, exposed to the weather.
56% of consumers stated that the packaging was not printed clearly with recycling information, while 21% said they would boycott a retailer who does not use sustainable packaging. Less than 7% of parcels had any additional features such as braille or high contrast print. More encouragingly, 95% of consumers indicated that the packaging was easy to open.
A significant fall in damage was reported, with only 3% (2023: 6%) reporting that goods arrived damaged. 93% of consumers still choose home delivery. However, click and collect has increased from 4% to 7% since 2023.
Rachel Fellows, retail and 3PL sales director for Macfarlane Packaging, said, “The results of our survey are invaluable to online retailers who have clearly taken major strides forward in recent years to ensure that they are using sustainable packaging and reducing both damages and overpacking. There is still much to do to ensure that online retailers meet all the packaging demands of consumers and prepare for incoming Extended Producer Responsibility fees.”
