The Importance of Retail-Ready Packaging

When you’re in the CPG business, grocery stores and major retailers look like aisle upon aisle of competition. Each product is nestled next to countless others, sitting in a sea of similar items that customers will scan as they walk by. The common question in CPG marketing is how do you make that package stand out on the shelf?

One approach to this solution is retail-ready packaging (also referred to as display-ready packaging). This tactic is unique because it doesn’t directly target the consumer but instead focuses on your middle man—the retailer’s employees. Not to mention it can also make shipping bulk orders easier, build brand awareness on the shelf, and encourage customers to purchase. 

Let’s take a look at exactly how retail-ready packaging can help your brand and how to implement it in your products.

How Retail-Ready Packaging Gives Your Brand a Competitive Edge

With Retailers

Brands that sell consumer goods are constantly competing for shelf space, a higher place in the supply chain, and the best merchandising spots in retail stores. Some brands focus heavily on package design and others dive into marketing and ad spend, but not many realize how much difference having retail-ready packaging can make. 

Just like any other business, retailers are looking for cost savings wherever they can find them to maximize their profits, and the biggest culprit in that industry is labor. In fact, retail stores spend about 25% of their total costs on labor and related expenses. So when they find specific products that take half the time to shelve, they know it could save them significantly in the long run.

So what do RRP packaging solutions look like? Think packaging that’s easy to stack on a pallet; perforated die lines to easily access the product for merchandising or secondary display; and trays or sleeves inside the shipping case to keep your product organized and easy to slide onto a shelf. Think of RRP as a truck-to-shelf service. All retail team members have to do is open the box and easily put your product directly on the shelf. No extra work required.

With Consumers

Making work easier for the stores is one way to get ahead, but RRP can help your brand in the eyes of consumers as well. 

First and foremost, it builds brand awareness by bringing your design beyond your product. When you include secondary packaging for your products with your brand name and signature designs, people can find you even if the store is out of your item. This creates a reliable experience for your customers and can encourage them to ask for your product if they don’t find it on the shelf.

Display trays are common in retail-ready packaging design because it makes you more visible on the shelf. If your product is neat and easy to grab on a shelf, people will gravitate to it. It’s easy to see and identify and stays organized even as shoppers take it from the shelf.

Intelligent package design can make it easier for your customers to grab your product. It can also make it easier to maintain back stock and make it easier for quick restocking as on-shelf inventory runs low. This helps you stay consistently in front of customers to capture planned and impulse purchases alike.

Some of these impulse buys could stem from a customer’s desire to support your brand purpose. Your packaging materials could speak volumes to your mission. Sustainability is a significant trend in the market right now, and creating product packaging that’s easily recyclable can go a long way to gaining a customer’s loyalty. 

So retail-ready packaging helps with building solid retailer relationships, improving display and in-stock condition and being a brand ambassador for your product. Now let’s look at a few ways to think about designing and implementing high quality packaging that meets both consumer and retailer needs.

The 5 Rules of Retail-Ready Packaging

When it comes to creating retail-ready packaging solutions, you want to focus on the “5 Easies:”

1. Easy to identify.
   Your RRP should make it easy for store employees and customers alike to identify your brand and product. Try to include your brand’s color, logo, and maybe even tagline on your packaging. Make sure these aspects are strategically placed so they can be seen from all sides of your display. This helps employees find you in crowded back rooms or receiving areas and customers find you among the competition on the shelf or on secondary displays.
   
   
2. Easy to open.
   We talked about how retailers want to cut down on labor costs, which means improving labor efficiency in the day-to-day store operations. You can help this process by making your packaging easy to open. Store resources shouldn’t have to find a box cutter or struggle to tear open a standard shipping box to get a customer the product they need. Make your primary package easy to open so retail team members can quickly stock your product. A common design is the perforated dieline with a pull tab or finger pull to allow for easy opening and merchandising.
   
   
3. Easy to stock
   The size of your packaging matters a lot to retail stores from the point of receiving to the point of display. You can make things easier on them by creating boxes that are sturdy and easy to handle and stack. It can also help to include retail-ready sleeves or trays for ease of stocking and restocking your product. Several basic points critical for both the individual retail product packaging and the configuration of the shipping cases include: 
   
   
   • They fit the retail shelf sets.
   • They can be distributed and handled efficiently.
   • The pack sizes support good inventory management.
4. Easy to shop
   However you choose to package your products, you want them to be easy to grab. Otherwise people might pass you by. Full displays demonstrate ample product availability, but they shouldn’t be overstuffed or messy. Product packaging and retail-ready options help ensure that products look good on the shelf, can be easily and quickly replenished, and efficiently “pack out” on the shelf and in back rooms. 
   
   
5. Easy to dispose of
   Sustainable packaging is as much about recycling as it is about using recycled materials. Simplifying or minimizing the amount of packaging used just makes things easier for retailers, which can make you their favorite vendor. Plus it helps to ensure you’re doing your part to help support them and make it easier for everyone to do the right thing for the environment.

Creating and utilizing retail-ready packaging can go a long way for your brand, but it’s a big task to take on alone. We’d love to help you evaluate your retail packaging and find ways to optimize package design that will help your products realize their true potential. Contact us today for a consultation!