Social media has always been an incredible tool for brand awareness, but now also for sales. Social commerce is a growing trend and a golden opportunity for brands to boost their bottom line.
But as a highly visual medium, packaging plays a very important role in promoting and communicating products across social media.
So, as brands jostle for limited digital screen real estate, how is the rise of social commerce causing a revolution in product packaging?
Social Commerce: A Growing Trend and Opportunity
Social commerce refers to the use of social media platforms to promote, sell and purchase products.
It has long been popular in Asian marketplaces — an astonishing 90% of online consumers in Thailand and China are social commerce buyers. The rest of the world is slowly catching up: global social commerce penetration is set to rise to around 30% by 2028. That’s up hugely from the pre-pandemic days of 2018, when only 3% were social buyers.
One big benefit of social commerce, for brands and users, is that the entire transaction typically takes place within the platform. This not only removes a barrier to conversion, but ensures any disruption to the content consumption experience is minimised.
Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest have boasted in-platform commerce functionality for some time. In recent years, TikTok Shop has stolen the show and leads the way in social commerce with younger audiences — who’s familiar with the ‘TikTok made me buy it’ refrain?
60% of Gen Z TikTok users bought a product because they saw it on TikTok in the past year, and 78% discovered new brands and products on the platform.
User e-commerce behaviour is pivoting towards social media quickly. By 2030, social commerce is projected to reach $6.2 trillion (£4.75 trillion) — up from only $1.3 trillion (£1 trillion) last year. 26% of internet users aged 16–64 said that finding products to buy was now the primary reason they use social media!
Live-streamed shopping is another big emerging trend. In 2021, two of China’s most influential live streamers sold $3 billion (£2.35 billion) worth of goods in one day — totalling around three times Amazon’s daily sales. By 2026, it’s estimated that live commerce will account for one-fifth of all e-commerce.
The trend for social shopping has opened up a new revenue opportunity for brands, offering the chance to diversify from e-commerce stores and reducing reliance on third-party retailers like Amazon.
Packaging in Social Commerce: A Product Differentiator
This new trend for social commerce has placed unprecedented importance on packaging. Social media gives brands split seconds to make an impact, so an attractive, thumb-stopping design that connects with target audiences is crucial.
In a world of social commerce, packaging is one of precious few opportunities to differentiate your product and brand. With the absence of a physical store and employee interaction, it has a role to play in adding value to the brand experience and nurturing a repeat sale.
It’s an opportunity for brands to stand out, show who they are and make the process of opening the product extra special — an experience the customer won’t forget and would be delighted to repeat.
Social media scrollers may be familiar with the popularity of unboxing videos, particularly when it comes to beauty and personal care products. Social media users often create content of them opening their deliveries, with the brands tagged.
A good packaging experience, therefore, has the added benefit of essentially turning social media influencers into organic brand ambassadors. Young social media users are particularly receptive to recommendations their favourite creators make.
Despite these opportunities, there’s a conundrum: the packaging has to be financially viable and as environmentally friendly as possible, but perform the functional role of protecting the product throughout its supply chain journey. Social commerce can entail many more stages of shipping.
How Social Commerce Is Changing the Packaging Game
So, packaging has taken on added importance — but how is this actually prompting innovations and changes?
Sustainability and Reusability
46% of consumers have reported buying more sustainable products recently. Despite all the cost of living pressures, consumers would still be happy to pay a 9.7% premium for a sustainably-sourced product.
For those wanting to burnish their environmental credentials, packaging has always been a primary consideration. This eco-consciousness is a particularly important consideration for younger shoppers on social media. They’re demanding that their brands put the planet first.
Here, sustainable solutions include refillable containers, biodegradable materials and a streamlined, lighter package that loses the weighty screw caps and over-engineered neck threads. Solutions like hermetic seal foil caps can reduce packaging weight by up to 60%.
The global value of the sustainable packaging market is set to grow by 7.7% every year until 2030. For more insights, don’t miss our overview of the importance of sustainability on packaging in 2024 and beyond.
Changeable Packaging Designs
Social media is a highly visual environment; brands have mere moments to make their mark. A visually-attractive package has never had such importance attached to it.
If your packaging can also be dynamic — that is, able to change quickly and easily — then it’s sure to be an even bigger winner on social media. One idea is to incorporate changeable designs into your packaging.
Brands that can capture a particular moment with a customised element — whether that relates to a meme, trend, sports match, music event or significant cultural moment — will be creating something that’s special. It may even have collector value, or go viral. Who remembers the popularity of the Coca-Cola bottles with first names on the labels?
This customisation can be achieved quickly and cost-effectively with foil caps: these allow brands to stay in the spotlight without completely overhauling their entire packaging design. There’s no costly requirement to change containers or use unsustainable plastic wraparound labels.
Enhanced Product Integrity
As products don’t go from a brand store to directly to the user, social commerce has the potential to introduce a number of additional stages of distribution. Longer time spent travelling through the supply chain means more potential for bumps, scrapes, spillages and loss of freshness.
This has put the integrity of the product under the spotlight, in particular the seal.
Solutions include hermetic seals, such as foil closures. These are leakproof, extending shelf life without the requirement for additional additives and preservatives. They’re also lightweight, reducing the additional transport expense (and carbon emissions) associated with a heavier product.
Interactive and Smart Packaging
By incorporating features like QR codes on the packaging — which directs users to a website landing page — product packaging can transcend the physical and invite users into a digital experience.
The possibilities here are endless: content could include additional product information, authenticity verification, sustainability messaging or interactive content.
Smart packaging allows you to bring your tech-savvy, digitally-driven social media users behind the scenes. This adds even more value to the product, enhancing brand engagement and fostering loyalty.
New and Novel Shapes
In a digital landscape driven by all things visual, the ordinary and traditional are instantly forgettable. One way to stand out, therefore, is by doing away with the round bottle shape.
A unique oval or triangular container may be one way to enhance customer experience and foster brand loyalty amongst younger shoppers. Adopting an innovative container shape doesn’t need to be costly or unfeasible, either. Solutions like foil caps can be easily sealed to any container shape.
Make Your Products Stand Out On Social
At FORDS, we design and develop unique foil closures. These single-piece peels achieve a hermetic seal and are fully customised to your output. They’re suitable for all types of container materials and shapes.
With the potential for changeable designs and smart features like QR codes, our foil closures help you to create a visually-stunning product package — ideal for establishing your product brand identity and building loyalty across social media platforms.
These solutions also help to reduce product weight and increase recyclability, which means good things for your product sustainability ambitions.
Established in 1924, we’ve preserved the integrity of millions of products across the world.
Our solutions have helped customers of all sectors, including personal care, home care, food, beverage, dairy, confectionery and nutrition brands.
Ready to succeed with social commerce? From product conception to commercial solution and beyond, we’re with you. Simply get in touch with our team to discuss your requirements.
