eCommerce retailers are always looking for ways to stand apart from the competition, from creating flashy custom shipping materials to cultivating reputations for providing truly unique products to their customer base.
But there’s one very easy thing you can do to make a huge statement that you probably never thought about: just polybag it!
What is Polybagging?
Polybagging is a simple process where a printed item, like a catalog, or small, loose items, like the hardware for your company’s line of sun shades, are sealed into a polythene bag by a machine.
It’s not magic, and there’s really nothing fancy about it, but polybagging can help call attention to a particular part of your order fulfillment presentation or carefully segregate parts that should be handled with care.
Polybagging, usually under the Mail Services banner, is a helpful tool that’s often ignored, but this is the very reason you should investigate it for your eCommerce store. Polybags can be printed with various inks or simply left clear so your items shine through in their entirety.
Here are three great ways to use polybagging for your business:
- Making mailers stand out. Because polybags can be wrapped around mailers of almost any size, they can also be used as a unique and interesting envelope for marketing materials.You can choose to obscure the entire contents of the bag and have addresses printed on the outside, leave a window open for an address inside the bag to show or strategically create clear windows that show selected pieces of your marketing before the materials are opened.
- Protecting catalogs and other printed materials. If you offer a product catalog or want to include printed coupons or fliers inside of customer orders, it might make sense to have them polybagged as part of your literature fulfillment services.Whether you leave the top unsealed or seal the entire bag, placing those items in a bag calls attention to them, as if to say to your customer, “Hey, look at this, it’s really important.”
- Bringing small parts together to prevent loss. Often, companies include small and easily losable parts in orders by necessity.Even though you may think it’s obvious that the tiny paper envelop contains the screws for your flat-packed dollhouses, not actually seeing those tiny screws could end in customer frustration when they open your package and the envelop spills, sending screws everywhere. Instead, wrap those tiny pieces, cables or special tools in a polybag that’s clearly labeled so that your customer’s experience is excellent.
How your order fulfillment or marketing message is organized is just as important as what the actual product contains. Polybagging can make it easy for customers to find small parts or create a stir when it comes to your marketing message. Either way, it’s an affordable alternative to paper envelopes that your 3rd party fulfillment company can help you implement today.
