5 ways to save money with letterbox packaging

Here are our top five reasons why an e-commerce business will make significant cost savings today if they choose letterbox friendly packaging.

1. Letterbox Packaging Lowers Delivery Costs

It’s pretty irrefutable that if a company is able to use letterbox-friendly packaging for their products, delivery costs will be significantly lower. By enabling shipping companies to post a package through a letterbox, an e-commerce business ensures that their shipping agent doesn’t have to wait around for a signature, nor do they have to take the time and trouble to re-schedule a delivery if a customer isn’t at home. These factors alone amount to huge savings, quite aside from the fact that a package able to be posted through a letterbox is immediately safe and secure – a big plus for satisfactory order fulfilment and peace of mind.

2. Letterbox Friendly Packaging Reduces Packaging Costs

Packaging costs will be lower. Items can be dispatched in packaging of an appropriate size both for the standard letterbox (254mm by 38mm or 10 inches by 1.5) and the product. Less space taken up in transit and less waste in terms of packaging materials (including void fill like paper wrapping, air bags, etc.) means money saved in the short term and the long run. Additional bonus: a box specifically designed to be letterbox and product friendly – for example, our own FlyPak – will mean being able to dispense with padding, bubble wrap and packaging peanuts altogether.

3. Letterbox Packaging Lowers Environmental Cost

Sustainability is a buzz word in the packaging industry and so it should be. The good news is that lower packaging costs also translate directly to lower environmental costs. Less space in transit, fewer delivery attempts, and right-sized materials mean lower emissions and minimal waste. And let's not forget that lower environmental cost also means increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

4. Letterbox Friendly Packaging Reduces Consumer Frustration

Items able to be posted through letterboxes mean – as MacFarlane pointed out all those years ago – far happier customers. People no longer need to be home for a package. This reduces parcels left on porches or with neighbours and avoids the dreaded delivery window fiasco. Even better, items that might previously have come mummified in metres of void fill can now slide effortlessly through the front door – with no scissors or signatures needed.

Don’t get us wrong. If an item requires a bigger box, that’s fine. But unnecessary, outlandishly sized boxes? Not so much. If you want to see some historical and humorous packaging fails, click here – and prepare to be both amused and appalled.

5. Letterbox Friendly Packaging Leads to Business Innovation

There are companies out there who could never have imagined that they’d be able to use letterbox packaging to their advantage. But with innovative thinking, they’ve made it work. Some have even adapted their products to fit, because the cost benefits and customer preference are so strong.

This is exactly what Garçon Wines did in 2019. Instead of using cylindrical glass bottles, they reimagined the bottle itself to be flat and recyclable – opening up a whole new channel of delivery.

And they’re not alone. More and more businesses are following suit, transforming traditional products into compact formats. In doing so, they’ve expanded into e-commerce and enjoyed all the benefits of low-cost, low-hassle distribution.

Take subscription boxes, for example, which remain hugely popular. Brands like Bloom & Wild have built their entire model around the ability to deliver through the letterbox. It was packaging that got them noticed. Their product kept customers coming back.

Gifting services are evolving too. Letterbox-sized gifts are now widely available: pampering, edible, decorative or hobby-based – all sent without hassle, packing, or queuing. Curation and convenience combine into a compelling e-commerce strategy.

So, there you have it. Four reasons why letterbox-friendly packaging can save you money, and one reason to consider it as a way to grow your business — even if your product hasn’t traditionally been the kind to slip through a door.

Talk to The Packaging Club about designing bespoke letterbox-friendly packaging that protects your product, reduces shipping costs, and fits through the door with ease. We’re here to help — and we’re just as friendly as the packaging we supply.

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