Seasonal packaging presents significant opportunities for brands to capitalise on the busiest times of the retail year. Our global trend specialists focus on emerging seasonal packaging trends to help you turn tomorrow’s concepts into today’s lucrative reality.
We hesitate to use ‘the C word’ this early in the year, but in the packaging world Christmas is already at the front of our minds. For our customers that have an annual festive revamp of their packaging, work has already begun in earnest to get their holiday designs into production.
Our ongoing packaging trend forecasts are invaluable to this process; ensuring that their packaging connects their customers to the holiday spirit in a way that is relevant, ethical, and enticing will help them to stand out at a time that competition is the most fierce.
What are the benefits of seasonal packaging?
Visual perception is key in retail – and never more so than when the shelves are bulging with holiday product ranges. Nielson reports that a massive 60% of consumer decision making happens at the shelf. Packaging plays a huge role in that decision making process. It can be the difference between a customer choosing your product, or overlooking it for a product that stood out to them.
We know that particular holidays provide a guaranteed increase in spend, with impulse buys contributing to a good portion of that extra revenue. In the build up to a particular season, customers will be on the lookout for seasonally appropriate products for gift giving. Using seasonal packaging to mirror the festivities can be an effective way to ensure the additional sales come your way.
Which holiday season is right for your business?
With so many holidays marked in the retail calendar, it’s unrealistic to expect your brand to celebrate them all with a packaging update. Your brand image will play a major role in deciding which holidays have the most relevance to your business.
The obvious choices for jewellery and accessory brands are Christmas and Valentine’s Day when higher value gifts are customary. Gifts given on these particular holidays are also highly likely to be shared on social media; therefore, creating a memorable unboxing experience adds to this process and increases your brand reach.
Packaging for all seasons
Of course, seasonal packaging doesn’t have to be holiday focused. You can also benefit from a packaging strategy that celebrates an actual season. Varying your colour palettes, packaging materials, and packaging form throughout the year can speak to customers on a more emotional level than keeping your packaging static throughout the year.
For example, Halloween is an increasingly popular holiday but it’s quite niche and might not be suited to your particular brand or product range. However, you can still capitalise on the broader seasonal trend by incorporating autumnal colour palettes, graphics, and print techniques to your packaging. By doing this, you encapsulate autumn and, by extension, the Halloween holiday without being overtly ‘spooky’. It also gives your packaging a much longer window of use than just the few weeks leading up to October 31st.
Also consider that consumers choose jewellery and accessories that match their wardrobe. As the seasons change, so does the fashion. If you plan to have the same jewellery range in store all year, giving the packaging a seasonal refresh can make the same necklace or belt seem appropriate for either a summer strappy dress, or a winter party outfit.
Tagit top tips for seasonal packaging
Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Playing it safe during the holiday season could mean that your products fail to stand out on busy shelves. Adding seasonal elements to your packaging tells consumers that your product is just what they’re looking for as an ideal gift for the particular holiday.
Keep it on brand. Seasonal packaging should build on your brand’s identity, not distract from it. If you have a loyal customer base you risk irritating them if they can’t immediately identify that a product belongs to you. A perfect example of festive packaging staying on brand is the Toblerone Christmas box. They retained the iconic yellow sleeve but replaced the brand name with ‘Ho Ho Ho’. For this simple seasonal redesign they were rewarded with a 400% increase in sales!
Watch your stock levels. If you’re targeting a holiday for your seasonal packaging update, remember that once the holiday is over, the packaging becomes irrelevant. Whilst you don’t want to understock, overstocking can lead to reductions in revenue. Make sure you work with packaging partners (like Tagit) that can fulfil lower MOQs for the holidays.
Choose your season wisely. Very few industries are well-suited to every single holiday. Updating your packaging for every single holiday in an effort to capture additional sales is unlikely to be an effective long term strategy. Consider which holidays are the most relevant to your brand and product range, and work on making your packaging the best it can be for the occasion.
Keep it sustainable. Holiday packaging generates a lot of extra waste, so it’s vital to make sure your seasonal packaging is as low-impact as possible. Ethical packaging tells consumers that you are a responsible brand that shares their eco-friendly values. According to a study by Dotcom Distribution, 62% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands using sustainable packaging. During the busy holiday seasons, this can be the difference between your product being chosen or left on the shelf in favour of a product from a more ethical competitor.
Get ahead of the game. When making a decision to capture additional holiday revenue by using seasonal packaging, it’s vital to make sure your packaging is on the shelf as soon as the holiday stock goes out. That means having your packaging designs in place and ready to be manufactured months ahead of time. Working with a packaging partner (like Tagit) that forecasts emerging packaging trends allows you to make quick decisions about how particular seasonal packaging trends can be incorporated into your own designs.
Seasonal packaging trends in summary
Seasonal packaging is a fantastic, and somewhat underused, marketing strategy. It can help your brand to increase its relevance during times of high competition, leading to an uptick in sales.
Working with Tagit on your seasonal packaging strategy means that you can take advantage of our vision for the coming year. Our packaging trend forecasts focus on the latest seasonal and holiday looks to help you to create a unique packaging offering. You will stand out from the crowd and engage with your customers in a way that will inspire brand loyalty that long outlasts the season.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help you with your seasonal packaging trend requirements.
James Rowland
James Rowland is the Managing Director of Tagit Ltd, which he co-founded in 1996. His passion for all things related to design and packaging came from working in the art department of a packaging firm after leaving school in the late 80s. He taught himself to run the litho printers and die cutting machinery, and built up the production arm of the UK business. James’ entire career has been centred around the innovation, design and production of jewellery and accessory packaging, which is why Tagit attracts and retains clients around the globe. James cares deeply for the environment and has made it his mission to offer the best recyclable and sustainable packaging solutions for his customers, even if it affects the profitability of Tagit.