The UK postal service has undergone many changes since it was first established an astonishing 500 years ago. And at the same time, postal packaging has evolved too. Materials, transportation, and the way we shop have all had their impact, and the future promises even more changes.

A brief history of post

This year, the UK postal service celebrates 500 years since Henry VIII first established postal towns across the country to build a formal postal network. Just over 100 years later, the first public postal service was established by Charles I in 1635.

It wasn’t until the 19^th Century that reforms put forward by Rowland Hill transformed the post into something we recognise today. He introduced the Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive stamp which made all mail a uniform price.

In 1883, under Postmaster General Henry Fawcett, the Parcel Post Service started for the first time. Previously, people could only send packages privately via stagecoach or rail.

Now that people could send parcels cheaper and have them delivered by an official Postman, the need for parcel packaging grew and with it, an industry was born.

Transportation and package protection

The Royal Mail was always looking for faster and more efficient ways of delivering mail. Transportation played a key role, so as technology progressed delivery methods could evolve too.

Horse driven coaches were initially used, replaced by bicycles in the late Victorian age when the numbers of local Postmen grew. The 1830s saw the first mail railway services, and in 1850 Royal Mail ships were commissioned to deliver post by sea. But a true international mail service began with the arrival of air freight which became dominate in the mid 20s.

All this change had an effect on protective packaging protection, as goods travelling longer distances needed better packaging to protect the products for the journey ahead.

Kraft paper was invented in 1879 and to this day continues to be a cost-effective form of protection, providing an internal cushion for products being sent.

By the mid-20^th Century foam structures became increasingly used, with the use of lightweight and tear-resistant polyurethane foam. Today, it comes in a range of options for packaging of all shapes and sizes.

Bubble Wrap is a trademark of Sealed Air Corporation, which first used it in packaging in 1961. Three years later, padded mailers began to be manufactured by Jiffy Packaging. They have been so effective that they’re still going strong 55 years later.

 Going the distance

The first Royal Mail Airmail service began in 1919, flying between London and Paris. The service was quickly extended to Holland, Belgium and Morocco. But it wasn’t until after WW2, that Airmail really took off with the rapid growth in commercial aviation.

With long-distance mail delivery now possible, packaging needed to adapt again for global travel. The need for security, element-proofing and durability was the driving force behind the development of plastic mailing bags made of polythene, the same material as carrier bags but significantly stronger. Available in a range of thicknesses to package heavyweight or sharp objects without risk of breaking, they have been developed with seal strips for security and are waterproof. And with the rise of ecommerce, they are perfect for international shipping.

The impact of ecommerce

The rate of change online has helped the growth of mail order and ecommerce and has been the biggest recent catalyst for postal packaging changes.

In Europe, ecommerce transactions are expected to reach £185 billion this year with the rise of mobile purchases increasing by 37.5%. With such huge increases, retail postal packaging is having to adapt quickly.

One of the challenges postal packaging has needed to address is custom packaging. Studies in America have shown 66% of customers believe the packaging represents how much the retailer cares about their order and nearly half believe the better the packaging the better the product inside.

First impressions matter. With the huge growth in “unboxing” videos (where users record themselves opening a package) on YouTube – up 871% since 2010 – postal packaging is the first opinion-forming part of a brand that customers see. Custom packaging available to businesses is fast becoming a major catalyst for packaging development.

Greener post

Fuelled by customer demand, there is a global drive by businesses to become more environmentally conscious. Postal packaging is no exception. Today, there are many options available to businesses to provide packaging made from recycled and biodegradable materials.

Rajapack is currently running Action Programme for Women & the Environment, a campaign to raise awareness of recyclable and renewable resourced packaging products.

The next 500 years?

We have seen huge changes in postal packaging since the first postal service was introduced. The next 500 will no doubt prove to be any different. With such revolutionary ideas such as Amazon’s drone-based delivery service, postal packaging will continue to evolve.

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It’s widely acknowledged that it’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than to attract a new one.  A 2010* study said that it could be around five times more expensive to recruit a new customer. Not only are existing customers far more likely to purchase from your business, but it is also easier to convert them into brand advocates who will advertise your brand to friends and family.

Custom packaging gives customers an instant impression of the brand

One of the best ways of attracting repeat custom is by making your brand memorable. Businesses can’t always achieve this by creating a great product alone. You also need to market and package it in a way that differentiates your product from the competition. Only then will you create an experience that feels special for the customer.

“Fun packaging makes your product stand out, come alive and in some cases becomes the very reason why your users come back to you for more”-Zopim

If your package looks like every other plain parcel your customer receives, how do they remember where they purchased that great product from?

Customisation: how does it encourage repeat purchases?

Customising your packaging allows your customers to instantly recognise your product range, making them more likely to think of it when it comes to buying that type of product in the future. There are many ways that a company can customise their packaging. Digital customisation has made this quicker and easier than ever. This is where you can use websites like Moonpig.com or Rajaprint to upload your own images, which are then printed directly onto the packaging.

Large retail businesses have been customising their packaging for years. Think of all the times you’ve had a delivery from Amazon or bought groceries from Asda; their identity is emblazoned on the packaging and tells you in an instant who the package is from. Their branding lasts throughout the customer journey and brand recognition lasts long after the products are received.

What effect does custom packaging have on the customer?

In retail, having ‘top of mind’ awareness is important when trying to achieve a higher ROI and more repeat custom. Top of mind means that when a customer considers purchasing a product, they think of your brand.

Stand out packaging is vital for lasting awareness, as it allows the customer to associate an image and name with the product.

If a customer associates a brand name or image with a quality product, they are more likely to purchase that item again and also explore other products in the same range. In effect they have increased their depth of involvement with your company from product to brand.

Connecting with the customer

Customers are more likely to purchase a product that they feel connects with them or relates to them on some level. This could be showing an understanding of age group, sub culture, gender or personality type.

Gender specific (GS) packaging is a prime example of this. GS packaging is when a product is designed with imagery that appeals to members of a certain gender. This could be in the choice of colour pallet or imagery that resonates with that sex. According to a poll organised by ‘easyFairs’, 37% of women would be more attracted to gender specific packaging.

Customising and branding packaging allows businesses to communicate their personality to the customer. If a customer feels that the brand understands them or their needs, they are more likely to be become brand loyal or brand advocates, rather than just one-off customers.

Taking customisation to the next level with personalisation

A number of big brands have now evolved customisation further with personalised packaging. Personalisation allows the customer to feel personally connected with the brand. This could be through non-targeted personalisation, such as the names on Coca Cola bottles (which increased sales by 2% after a number of year-on-year declines) or the ultra-targeted campaigns such as Nutella’s new label name branding campaign.

Nutella’s label personalisation makes each product unique to the customer and blurs the lines between seller and buyer, allowing the consumer to feel closer to the brand.

What impact could this have on your business?

Statistics tell us that branding and customised packaging encourages repeat purchases, but how does that translate into success for your business?

Bain & Company, the global management consultancy firm, say that a mere 5% increase in customer retention could translate into increased profits of 25%. Although there are extra costs associated with the introduction of customised packaging, the figures show that the return on investment can be well worth the outlay.

If you can start making your customers think of your business as a brand rather than simply a product, you create an audience who are ready to become long term advocates.

* Lee Resources inc.

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The world of technology is moving at an unbelievable rate and it is quite possible that the world in 2030 will be completely unrecognisable from the one we live in today.

A major part of that change will be the way that people purchase and receive items from online retailers. According to Digitalmarketingshow.co.uk, UK shoppers are expected to have spent around £52 billion online by the end of the year. With so many people deciding to shop online instead of at their local supermarket, packaging and delivery will become more important than ever before.

By the time 2030 comes along, packaging and delivery could have been taken into a whole new sector. With information so readily available at the click of a button on the internet, it can only be a matter of time before the consumers start to demand that their products reach them a lot sooner too.  Time spent waiting will be a commodity that we’re just not prepared to spend.

One very interesting piece of technology that will be common place by 2030, is the use of drones for delivery. These automated robots will be programmed to fly to an exact destination and back again, meaning that delivery people in vans may be a thing of the past for smaller items.

Drone girl looks into a delivery drone future

We had a few questions to ask about drones; most notably about security and how the strength and design of our packaging would have to change to meet the demands of this new form of delivery. So we got together with Sally French, who you may know better as thedronegirl.com. She has run the web’s most visited site solely about drones since 2013 and was named by Fortune Magazine as one of 2015’s ‘Most Influential Women in Drones’.

We quizzed her on a few different issues surrounding delivery, branding and the changes that we will have to make to our personal lives in order to fulfil the potential of drone deliveries.

Rajapack: Hi Sally, thanks for speaking with us today. First of all, do you think that most companies will follow Amazon’s lead (Amazon’s CEO says that their drone deliveries will reach customers within 30 minutes) in drone deliveries over the next fifteen years?

SF: To be quite honest, many companies are beating Amazon in drone deliveries. While they are definitely testing them, as far as I’m aware, Amazon hasn’t performed a public delivery. But we’ve already seen numerous successful deliveries. Some are silly, like the Tacocopter (a drone designed specifically to deliver Tacos in the US). Some are illegal, for example, drug smuggling. Some are utilitarian; Finland’s postal service was just in the news for doing deliveries by drone. Some are incredibly life-changing, such as the companies delivering medication to hard-to-reach areas.

Rajapack: With so much variety already on the drone market, will everything be delivered by drone in 2030? Presumably there will be a limit to the size and weight that drones will ever be able to carry…it’s not like we’ll be seeing fridges flying through the sky?

SF: Of course, flight time and payload is limited, but as the technology improves, so will payload capacities and flight times.

Rajapack: In 2030, is the sky going to be full of drones? With so many drones flying through the air, could there be a problem for flight paths?

SF: Yes, absolutely. We’ll need some type of air traffic control system. NASA has done work on that, as well as a few others.

Rajapack: So will the drones have sensor technology to stop them colliding in mid-air, or hitting other objects?

SF: Yes, sense-and-avoid technology is really the Holy Grail in drone delivery. There are currently varying degrees of that technology on the market already.

Rajapack: Won’t we lose some security peace of mind with unmanned deliveries? How can we guarantee the safety of important products such as medical supplies if they’re delivered by drones?

SF: I don’t view a drone as any less safe than a regular car delivery. People ask, “what if someone sees the drone and steals your package off your porch?” But they could easily do that with a UPS truck too.

Rajapack: Will drone deliveries change the way we receive products? Do you think we will have to adapt our homes to include boxes/ safes where we could receive drone deliveries?

SF: I wouldn’t think so. People do have mailboxes to keep letters secure, but packages are left on the porch unsecured and, while you do hear of packages from regular USPS (the United States Postal Service- Sally is based in California) being stolen, it’s really not a huge issue for people the way it is for packages from a drone.

Rajapack:  Instead of having items delivered to a house or building, will people be able to fill in their exact coordinates when ordering a product and have the drone deliver the item to them in person?

SF: That’s a good question, and I think it varies by who is doing the delivery. That’s certainly possible though.

Primary and transit packaging combined

For packaging, the introduction of drones will open up more branding and advertising opportunities. No longer will your packages be hidden in a lorry or van when being delivered. Your branding will be flying in the sky where anyone can see it.

This will however, bring about security and privacy questions. If you’re purchasing sensitive packages that you want to keep secret, e.g. a birthday present, medicine or something very expensive, it will make things difficult if the branding is emblazoned down the side of the packaging.

Companies will have to be sensitive with their packaging depending on the type of product they sell.

2030: the future of packaging and delivery

If drones are to be the way we deliver in 2030, we could live in a world where we would no longer have to wait for products. Using Amazon’s 30 minute deliveries as an example, even simple tasks like driving to the shops at lunchtime to buy a sandwich could become obsolete; a drone could deliver it in the same time.

Furthermore, business would run far more smoothly. If you’re a retailer and you run out of stock, you wouldn’t have to disappoint any customers. The next stock delivery could be with you and available for sale in a matter of minutes.

In this series we’ll be looking at other ways packaging and delivery will adapt to fit with new technology in 2030, taking a look at materials, protection and packaging security, as well as the impact of 3D printers.

Picture credit to Ninfaj and Richard Unten

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