Packaging does more than protect an order on its way from warehouse shelf to doorstep. It shapes the first physical moment a customer has with your brand. For e-commerce businesses, that matters. A good unboxing experience can make an order feel considered, premium and worth talking about. It can turn a routine delivery into content, conversation and repeat business.
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Unboxing has been around for years, but it is no longer a niche internet habit. It is now part of how people discover products, judge brands and decide what feels worth sharing. McKinsey reported that YouTube views of videos with “unboxing” in the title passed 25 billion in 2024, which says a lot about how firmly this behaviour is embedded in online shopping culture.1
That does not mean every parcel needs to look theatrical. It means the arrival moment has commercial value. When the pack looks right, opens cleanly and feels consistent with the brand, it gives the customer confidence before they even use the product. That is a big deal in e-commerce, where packaging often has to do the work a shop floor, sales assistant or retail display would do in a physical setting.
The unboxing moment is also one of the few parts of the customer journey that happens with the buyer's full attention. They have waited for the order. They are ready to form an opinion. If the packaging feels careless, oversized or generic, that impression lands quickly. If it feels well judged, branded and easy to open, that lands just as quickly.
At its best, packaging does three jobs at once. It protects the product in transit, presents it well on arrival, and gives the customer something they want to photograph, film or mention. That is where unboxing shifts from a fulfilment detail to a brand asset.
People do not usually share packaging just because a brand asks them to. They share it when the experience gives them something worth showing. That might be a strong visual identity, a neat opening sequence, a premium print finish, a smart insert, or just the simple feeling that the order has been packed with care.
Social platforms reward content that feels real. Sprout Social's recent reporting points to growing demand for human-generated content, with audiences looking for authentic posts rather than polished brand output alone.2 That works in favour of brands that have put thought into their packaging. When the parcel looks good in a real home, on a kitchen table or in a quick phone video, it becomes easier for customers and creators to share it naturally.
That is why unboxing works so well as a bridge between packaging and social media. The box or mailer is not just protecting the goods. It is setting the scene. It affects the first impression, the pace of the reveal, and the quality of the content that might follow.
If a brand wants more organic content, it helps to think like a customer with a phone in hand. Would the pack look recognisable in a photo? Does the branding read clearly without being overdone? Is the presentation clean, or does the customer have to fight through tape, void fill and awkward folds just to get to the product? These small details shape whether the moment feels worth posting.
Good unboxing is not about throwing extras into a box and hoping for the best. The strongest experiences tend to feel simple, thought through and on-brand.
Fit matters. A well-sized pack gives a better arrival experience than an oversized carton full of void fill. It looks cleaner, feels less wasteful, and usually performs better in the parcel network too. In packaging terms, right-sizing means matching the pack footprint to the product so you reduce empty space without compromising protection.
Print and material choices matter. A plain stock carton can still feel sharp if the branding is handled well. Equally, a custom printed mailer can lose impact if the graphics are noisy or the board grade feels flimsy. Customers might not use packaging jargon, but they notice when a pack feels solid, neat and well made.
The opening experience matters. Tear strips, peel-and-seal closures, tidy internal presentation and clear message hierarchy all help. Message hierarchy simply means putting the most important visual or written elements in the right order, so the customer sees what matters first. Done well, that makes the experience feel smooth instead of cluttered.
Brand consistency matters. If the website looks premium but the parcel arrives in a tired-looking generic box, there is a disconnect. If the tone of voice online is warm and personal but the pack says nothing at all, that is another missed opportunity. Packaging should feel like part of the same system as the website, emails, ads and product photography.
Useful extras matter more than random extras. A well-designed insert, a reorder prompt, a thank-you card, care instructions or a referral message can all add value. Random filler usually does not. Customers can tell the difference between a useful touchpoint and something that has been stuffed in for effect.
One more thing is easy to overlook. Less friction makes a better impression. If the pack is hard to open, over-taped or messy inside, the moment loses energy. If it opens cleanly and the product is presented well straight away, the customer is more likely to remember the experience for the right reasons.
User-generated content, or UGC, is one of the clearest ways packaging can keep working after delivery. A customer photo, a creator video, a quick Instagram Story or a TikTok clip all act as social proof. In plain terms, that means proof from other people that the product and brand are worth attention.
That kind of content carries weight because it feels independent. It is not the brand praising itself. It is someone showing what arrived, how it looked and how it felt to open. Deloitte has reported that user-generated videos help many consumers discover products, and that creator reviews can increase the likelihood of purchase.3 Packaging plays a part in that because it shapes what the camera sees before the product has even been used.
When customers share branded packaging, they are not only showing the item they bought. They are showing the brand's standards. They are showing care, consistency and presentation. In a crowded market, that matters.
For personalised unboxing messages at scale, we recommend taking a look at Penny Black.
Personalisation can strengthen this further. A relevant insert, a tailored message or a campaign-specific printed detail can make the parcel feel more intentional. That does not always mean full variable-data personalisation. Even small touches can help, provided they feel genuine and fit the brand.
You can encourage customers to post without making it feel forced. The aim is to create the conditions for sharing, then give people a gentle nudge.
A simple insert card still works well when it is done properly. It might invite the customer to tag the brand, use a campaign hashtag or scan a QR code to join a loyalty scheme. The key is to keep the ask clear and light. Too many instructions, codes and messages can make the experience feel transactional.
Post-purchase email and SMS can support the same goal. A follow-up message asking how the order arrived, inviting a review, or encouraging a tagged photo can work well if the timing is right. This is especially useful for products where the customer may not open the parcel the moment it lands.
Some brands go further with referral prompts, limited-time offers, reorder discounts or chances to be featured on brand channels. These can work, but the packaging still needs to do the heavy lifting. Incentives might get attention. They do not fix a forgettable arrival experience.
The better approach is usually to make the unboxing feel naturally shareable. That means:
When those things are in place, the social media ask feels like an invitation, not an afterthought.
Unboxing is easy to talk about in brand terms, but it should still be measured properly. If you invest in better branded packaging, you need a clear view of what changed.
Start with the obvious metrics. Look at likes, comments, shares, saves and tagged posts linked to unboxing-related content. Saves are often overlooked, but they can be a useful signal that the content had real value rather than just a passing reaction.
Track how far the content travelled. That may include total reach, impressions, mentions and the number of creators or customers posting the brand. This helps you understand whether the packaging is helping extend visibility beyond your owned channels.
Clicks matter too. Watch click-through rates from social posts, creator content and post-purchase campaigns tied to unboxing. Then look further down the funnel. Did branded search increase? Did referral traffic rise? Did repeat purchase improve for the groups receiving the upgraded packaging?
Do not just count comments. Read them. Are people talking about presentation, quality, care, sustainability or giftability? Those signals can tell you more than raw volume on its own. Comment quality often shows what customers actually noticed.
It is worth measuring the fulfilment side too. Better packaging should not only look good. It should still perform. That means watching damage rates, packing speed, returns linked to transit issues and material usage. In many businesses, the best packaging format is the one that improves presentation without creating headaches in the warehouse.
This is where packaging specification matters. Board grade, flute profile, pack style, print process and closure method all affect how the unboxing experience performs in real life. A concept that looks good on a moodboard still has to survive pick, pack, sortation and final mile delivery.
Unboxing is not going away, but it is changing. Customers are getting better at spotting what feels genuine and what feels staged. The brands that do well will not be the ones chasing every trend. They will be the ones building packaging systems that feel distinctive, practical and easy to recognise in the wild.
That points to a few clear directions. First, more brands will treat packaging as part of content creation, not just fulfilment. Second, personalisation will become more targeted, whether through inserts, messaging or campaign-led print changes. Third, there will be more pressure to balance presentation with material reduction, right-sizing and supply chain practicality.
McKinsey's recent packaging research also highlights a familiar truth: packaging has to create consumer delight and operational value at the same time.1 That feels especially relevant in e-commerce. A pack that looks great on social media but performs badly in transit is a problem. A pack that survives the network but says nothing about the brand is a missed opportunity.
The goal is not extravagance. It is control. Control over the first impression, the brand message, the physical experience and the content that may follow.
If your packaging is doing the bare minimum, there is usually room to improve both the brand experience and the commercial result. Better unboxing does not have to mean overcomplicating the pack. It can come from stronger sizing, better print, cleaner presentation, more thoughtful inserts or a more suitable format for the way your products move through the parcel network.
At The Packaging Club, we help e-commerce brands build packaging that looks right, works hard and feels good to open. That includes custom printed packaging, transit-ready formats, presentation upgrades and practical advice on how to make the customer experience stronger without losing sight of cost, packing speed or supply chain reality.
If you want packaging that supports brand perception, encourages user-generated content and makes a better first impression on arrival, take a look at our bespoke packaging services.
