Once upon a time, people used to get in their cars and drive to stores to buy things…okay, we still have stores but they’re not quite the retail giants that they used to be. An annual survey conducted jointly by the analytics firm comScore and UPS found that respondents are now buying more things online than in stores for the first time in the study’s five-year history. Although online shopping is increasing, traditional brick & mortar stores still make up the majority of retail sales. In fact, 94% of all retail sales take place in stores, but e-commerce sales are expected to increase annually by 17%, reaching $414 billion by 2018. With more consumers shopping online, products need visual appeal on store shelves and websites.
There are steps, however, you can take to ensure your custom product labels impress shoppers whether they’re making a trip to a store or surfing the web.
The Future is Looking Digital
Buying and selling goods and services online has shown no signs of slowing down and even traditional brick-and-mortar stores are getting more into e-commerce to recapture customers. Not only does the internet make it easier for consumers to shop, but also to research products before buying online or in stores. Maintaining a consistent brand image wherever consumers encounter your product can be tricky, but certainly not impossible.
There are certain things you should consider to help ensure your product has its best face forward whether it’s on a store shelf or webpage.
- Do the product labels and packaging on your website match what’s on store shelves? If not, it’s time to update your website with your product’s most current look so consumers don’t get confused when they look for your product in a store or receive a product that doesn’t match their expectation.
- In addition to having accurate product photos, they should look good too. First impressions can make or break a sale, especially for online shoppers who can’t view your product in person. Hiring a photographer (or DIY with a quality camera if you can’t hire one) can help give your website that professional polish.
- There are other ways for consumers to come across your product besides your website: social media, blogs, forums, and reviews. If your business uses social media, we recommend that use the same photos on your website for your profiles to create brand consistency.
- One way to ensure that your product looks good across different devices is to have a “responsive web design.” That means your website can resize, hide, shrink, enlarge, or move content around to make the website look good on any screen.
- Popular e-commerce websites like Amazon and eBay have features that allow visitors to enlarge the product image or zoom in for more detail. Having this feature on your website can be particularly helpful for visitors researching your product.
You may not be able to control where or how consumers discover your product, but you can control what they see by actively managing your online presence. Online shopping isn’t going anywhere so it’s crucial that you invest in the e-commerce side of your business to attract online shoppers, increase sales, and improve your brand image.
Maximize Your Packaging Appeal with Shrink Sleeves
Wherever consumers shop, labels and packaging will likely play a role in their purchase decision. Custom shrink sleeve labels (commonly known as ‘shrink sleeves’) are a specialty product that makes it easier for products to stand with its unique design. Benefits of shrink sleeves include:
- Full color, 360° design coverage
- Fits a variety of containers
- Contours to special shapes
- Moisture and abrasion resistant
- Tamper evident seals and textured finishes available
A big advantage of using shrink sleeves for your custom product labels is how they cover the entire surface area of the container and shows better than a standard label on a website. The graphics can be larger because there’s more room and the sleeve conforms to the container which can provide a more attractive image to online shoppers.
Although e-commerce can help grow your business, it won’t be as effective if your labels and packaging are boring. We have a variety of design resources to help you create custom product labels that will look good on store shelves and electronic screens. Our customer service team would be happy to help you select a material that complements your label design and works best for label and packaging needs.
