How premium packaging liners elevate the e-commerce unboxing experience – and benefit brands
In an increasingly crowded digital marketplace, the moment of unboxing has become a powerful brand differentiator
Premium packaging has emerged as a crucial touchpoint in the e-commerce customer journey, capable of transforming the mundane act of opening a delivery into a memorable ritual that drives brand loyalty and repeat purchases.
E-commerce packaging is the customer’s first physical point of contact with a product, so how it looks and feels is pivotal to how consumers perceive a brand. This offers an opportunity for sellers to generate a positive brand connection – unboxing can create a memorable experience for the consumer, communicate a brand’s values and make an emotional connection between customer and company.
A 2023 study found that 57% of UK consumers considered branding on packaging to be important (up from 39% in 2016), while almost 60% saw packaging as either important or crucial to the unboxing experience.
Another crucial factor related to the unboxing experience is that this is a shareable moment – in 2023, there were more than 25bn views of unboxing videos on YouTube; TikTok also has billions of views for #unboxing, with the top videos receiving millions of views each.
The role of the liner in corrugated board packaging
One crucial element in the unboxing experience is the packaging liner. Through this, brands can orchestrate everything from the colour (to evoke specific emotions) to the feel and texture of surfaces to the weight and quality of materials. Personalised features such as custom-printed messages, care instructions or product stories can also be used to create a more intimate connection. A premium product packaged with high-quality liner containerboards helps validate the customer’s purchase choice, offering a commercially valuable sense of satisfaction and reward.
Research underlines the truth of this, demonstrating that packaging presentation directly influences how customers evaluate a product's worth. In one such study, 76% of consumers considered premium packaging more attractive, and as something that added prestige and perceived value to a product.
A great example is the Allure Beauty Box. Created by leading beauty magazine Allure, it uses its packaging design to reflect the magazine’s role as an expert curator of beauty products, blending editorial expertise with a quality, consumer-focused experience. The box features a minimalist white and red design aesthetic that reflects its premium positioning, while the prominent Allure logo connects the subscription box to the established magazine brand, so using visual consistency to build trust with the parent publication.
On occasion, the box is redesigned to reflect a collaboration or takeover – and as a means to demonstrate Allure's industry connections and trendsetting role. Throughout, the packaging supports the Allure brand narrative as a premium beauty authority and curator of desirable products.
The Sappi solutions that deliver on unboxing
Sappi can also claim to be a master – at providing the premium topliner containerboards that boast the necessary printing, finishing and handling properties to create truly striking unboxing experiences. The visual appeal and functionality of Sappi’s Fusion liner portfolio meet the needs of numerous high-end brands, particularly in the cosmetics, luxury goods and high-end consumer electronics industries.
Fusion Topliner is made with virgin fibre to provide a white surface for containerboard applications at the same time as offering consistent print quality. It offers textural and visual characteristics that vitally contribute to a premium unboxing experience.
Let’s not forget, however, that, no matter how pleasing packaging is to the consumer's eye, it must first be effective in protecting the product. E-commerce packages can be handled dozens of times during transit, meaning that the packaging and liner must cushion the product to ensure it arrives in perfect condition.
That’s why Sappi’s e-commerce packaging solutions are also designed to withstand the logistical challenges of shipping. Fusion Topliner, for example, is laminated to flute or greyboard in order to enhance corrugated packaging and help prevent transport damage.
And let’s also remember that today's consumers expect their packaging to be sustainable – a 2024 UK study found that 76% of consumers expected their online deliveries to be sustainably packaged. All of Sappi’s packaging solutions are manufactured using renewable woodfibre sourced from sustainably managed forests – and all are fully recyclable in the regular wastepaper recycling stream.
So, every Sappi unboxing experience has a happy ending.
