In the UK, around 30 per cent of all retail sales occur online, a percentage that has remained relatively consistent since 2020 when we were, naturally, all buying more via the internet. 

As an online retailer, it’s important to always seek ways to improve your reach, encourage repeat business and get your brand out into the world when you don’t have a physical shop to do so.

This is where custom shipping boxes can prove invaluable. The best part is that they don’t need to be overly designed either – think about how effective Amazon’s cardboard wallets and boxes are with the Amazon logo printed on them, or Amazon-branded packing tape. 

All of us immediately know the brand, whether it’s a parcel waiting for us or one that we see outside a neighbour’s door. 

To help you explore all of your options for custom packaging, we’ve rounded up the various ways in which you can brand your packaging for ecommerce, with options suitable for all budgets. 

Custom shipping boxes

These are a brilliant option for higher-value or fragile items, as they lend a sense of luxury and care to the shipping process. 

When you send items in custom shipping boxes, you’re showing your customers that you care about their product arriving in pristine condition and that you’ve done all you can to ensure this is the case. 

This packaging choice also helps make your parcels stand out from others being delivered, potentially aiding brand recognition and creating intrigue. 

Custom shipping boxes can be bespoke both in terms of their size and their colour or branding, so you can choose a level of customisation that works for your company and products. 

You may find this is the most appropriate packaging option for some of the UK’s most popular ecommerce categories, such as electronics, household appliances, beauty health and care, and media. 

Custom printed envelopes and mailing bags

Not every product that’s shipped requires a box though, which is where custom printed envelopes and shipping bags can be more applicable. 

Custom printed gusseted mailing bags are ideal for bulky items that don’t require the protection of a cardboard box, such as clothing. The level of customisation in terms of their design is up to you.

You could keep it simple with just your company’s logo, or you could cover the whole mailing bag in a pattern of your choosing. In either case, this kind of packaging will help your products stand out from the other post before your customer has opened their order. 

Given that more of us than ever before are buying fashion items online, it’s important for brands in this space to do all they can to stand out. In 2024, 28.5 million Brits made a fashion purchase online and that figure is expected to exceed 32 million by 2028. 

Custom printed packing tape

Depending on your budget for packaging, using the likes of custom printed packing tape may be a more suitable option than going all-in with custom printed packaging. 

The benefits of using customised packing tape are that you can use it on any order, regardless of what kind of packaging you are shipping it in. 

This can be helpful for businesses that sell a wide variety of products and therefore use different sized boxes or mailing bags as appropriate, as it means you don’t have to second-guess how many customised boxes or mailing bags to buy. 

If your tape is in a different colour to your box or bag, it can stand out really well and have the same pop that a branded box or bag does too. 

Branded stickers or stamps

Another option for smaller retailers or those on a tight budget is branded stickers or ink stamps that you can apply to whatever packaging you’re using for sending out your orders.

This is a more subtle way to customise your packaging, but it works and is a good option if you don’t have the space to store a lot of larger packing materials. It’s particularly handy if you only ship a small number of orders.

Branded presentation packaging

It’s important not to forget about what your buyer sees when they open your parcel, so you may decide you’d like to customise the presentation packaging to match your brand. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have your logo everywhere. Perhaps you choose a tissue paper or shredded craft paper in a colour that matches your branding. Or you could have the inside of your box printed with a design, rather than the exterior.