5 ways to save money with letterbox packaging

• February 19 2023, by Jo Hilton
• 5 min reading time

In 2014, MacFarlane Packaging announced that they’d developed the first range of packaging specifically designed to be letterbox friendly. They maintained that this type of packaging was the way forward if businesses truly wanted to exploit the intersection between e-commerce and the packaging industry. Such an approach, MacFarlane stated, would be vital for customer satisfaction and environmental sustainability and therefore, ultimately, business success.

MacFarlane’s decision to focus on letterbox friendly packaging was a reaction to a report by One Poll Market Research. The report was put together on MacFarlane’s behalf, following a survey conducted to better understand the frustrations of e-commerce consumers. The report clearly demonstrated that a significant number of customers – roughly 21% in fact – were irritated and annoyed when they received items in boxes that were unnecessarily big and which they felt could, in fact, have fitted through a standard UK letterbox.

Since MacFarlane’s announcement in 2014, the words letterbox friendly, cost-effective, convenient and environmentally friendly have featured heavily in articles written by every man and his dog giving advice on packaging to e-commerce businesses. So, let’s take a closer look at why MacFarlane's predictions have proved right time and time again and why letterbox friendly packaging continues to be a delivery method that’s economical, secure and suitable for a multitude of products from wine bottles (yes really) to flowers, chocolate brownies and everything in between.

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.

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So, there you have it. Four reasons why letterbox-friendly packaging can save you money, and one reason why you might want to consider it to make money – even if your product hasn’t traditionally been the kind to slip through a letterbox.

If you're interested in how The Packaging Club can help your product slide through that hole in the door and fall gently onto the mat of a million homes, click here. Alternatively, give us a call today. We’d love to hear from you – and we’re just as friendly as our letterbox packaging.

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