10 top tips on gift wrapping for retail

Whatever you decide to add to your retail packaging, make sure it is memorable, exciting or touching. In a world of fast-paced retail, it’s easy for a customer to feel like they are insignificant. Small acts of personalisation or decoration will make them feel like you took an extra moment just for them.

Adding a touch of luxury could be as simple as choosing higher-quality materials, such as thicker, colour-fast, tissue paper, paper carrier bags with a higher GSM and twisted paper rope handles or wrapping paper with a high GSM.

You can also choose between gloss, matt or kraft finishes for paper carrier bags, MG or MF tissue paper, and different kinds of void fill in e-commerce packaging.

Although higher quality materials may be a little more costly, customer satisfaction is priceless. Consider options such a buying in bulk or wholesale to save a little on costs, if you have the space to store supplies.

Consumers are more eco-conscious now than ever, with ‘34% of consumers consider the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions’ and 55% of consumers stating that they are willing to pay more for eco-friendly brands.

Consider whether this is a shift you would like to make as a business. Does it fit your aesthetic? Or your consumer base? Is it something that you personally care about from an ethical standpoint?

You can choose options such as packaging that contains a percentage of recycled content and is, in turn, recyclable, as most of paper and plastic carrier bags are. Or, you can choose products that are produced 100% from recycled materials, with eco-conscious product processes.

Customers might be willing to forgo the ‘prettier’ packaging in exchange for eco-friendly promises.

According to this article, if you choose to offer gift-wrapping services in-store, an easy way to ensure quick wrapping that’s perfect every-time is by using gift boxes. Giving you an easy shape to wrap and the customer an extra bit of luxury.

Even you don’t offer full gift-wrapping services, gift boxes or jewellery packaging boxes make an easy option for packaging purchases, especially if you offer jewellery, accessories, ornaments or even just for mugs and glassware.

If you are an exclusively online retailer, gift boxes are easy to slip inside the sometimes less attractive postal-boxes, giving your products extra protection and giving the customer packaging that’s a little more lavish than the practical style of mail order boxes.

Paper carrier bags and gift bags are a great alternative to plastic carrier bags in a retail store. It’s an easy way to make your products literally feel like a gift, no matter whether its something the customer is buying for themselves or someone else, it feels inherently luxurious!

Gift bags can also be used for e-commerce businesses, as they can be placed inside shipping boxes (along with other protections such as void fill and bubble wrap!), to make your items feel extra special.

Top tip: People will re-use quality gift boxes and bags, so this can have the added bonus of creating free advertising and word-of-mouth style promotion, just by your customer passing the packaging on to someone else or carrying it around with them.

This leads us on to the next point…

Consider getting your packaging products logo-printed or adding your own designs to help your packaging stand- out.

Logo-printing services like ours, can offer a range of printing options, from full-colour digital printing to foil printing for that extra shine.

Pick gift wrapping and packaging that matches your brand colours, audience, and your aesthetic. Bright, childish or playful colours would not suit a hand-made jewellery brand for example.

Colour is also something you can play with seasonally…

Change your packaging and gift-wrapping options with the season. Make your products always stand-out so they never become something that fades into the background by changing things up, keeping up to date with trends, promotional periods like Black Friday or reflecting a major holiday or event.

Think about the excitement when the first Starbucks festive cup comes out, with people sharing this year’s design on social media.

People love free things! Simply additions like stickers, sweets, badges and pins will make your customer smile.

Gift tags, gift wrapping ribbons, bag seals and cellophane gift bags are embellishments that can make your gift wrapping and packaging look more visually appealing, neater, or extra personal.