As the demand for more environmentally conscious solutions continues to rise, both consumers and businesses are taking part in this new “green” approach. Over-packaging is a huge problem not only for the environment but for consumers and businesses alike. Apart from being harmful to the climate, over-packaging can be a nuisance to consumers and can lead to high costs for companies, which will also affect pricing for customers. Therefore, steps need to be taken to reduce over-packaging, which in return will bring many benefits all around.
What Is Over-Packaging?
Over-packaging refers to any product being covered in multiple unnecessary layers. Industries that over package are the food, cosmetic, medical, clothing, and tech industries just for starters. Some of these extra layers have a purpose, but some products, such as, individually wrapped vegetables or fruits tend to go overboard.
Online shopping is another source of the over-packaging problem. Companies such as Amazon ship products in small boxes, then proceed to put that box into a bigger box, which is then filled with styrofoam. At times the plastic in the shipment outweighs the product itself, leaving consumers annoyed, companies wasting money, and the planet taking on more landfill.
How Does it Relate to the Consumer Experience?
Over-packaging can lead to a negative consumer experience. Products that should be readily available but are covered in unnecessary layers can frustrate the consumer and lead to an unpleasant experience. Additionally, customers then have to deal with the extra plastic, boxes, styrofoam peanuts, and any other mess that comes from it and find a way to dispose of the extra dunnage. The competition is heavy for companies and consumers have many choices nowadays; this can turn off a customer enough to not want to buy that specific product from your company in the future.
How Does Over-Packaging Lead to Inefficient Company Costs?
Over-packaging can also lead to increased company costs as mentioned by Supply Chain Solutions Center. The costs can be from employee labor as they handle all the extra waste, to the disposal of packaging. Disposal of these extra materials can also lead to high costs depending on the size and weight of the dunnage being discarded. Extra packaging also means bigger packages, longer packaging processes, which results in longer shipping times affecting the customer experience.
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