5 Reasons Why Your Customers Hate Your Retail Packaging

Have you ever had a time where a friend told you the truth—maybe the truth on something that you didn’t want to hear? It probably stung. You were probably angry. You might have even stopped talking to them for a while.

But in the long run, the truth needed to be said. You learned from it, grew because of it, and moved on.

Today, we’re that friend who is about to tell you the truth; the truth of why your customers hate your retail packaging.

Why Customers Hate Your Packaging

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Reason #1: It’s a Fight to Get it to Open

When a customer is ready to use your product, they expect your packaging to open without much of a fuss. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case a lot of times, and customers actually struggle to pry your packaging open.

And when you’re hungry, fighting with protective packaging is a surefire way to annoy your customer to no end.

When was the last time that you checked the functionality of your packaging? If you can’t recall whether your product is difficult or easy to remove from your packaging, it’s time to take a closer look at your quality.

Customer frustration is never going to win you repeated business. And we can’t blame them.

So if your packaging is hard to handle and doesn’t pop open quickly and easily, your customers probably hate your protective packaging.

Reason #2: It Tears Too Easily

Let’s take things a step further with the customer frustration factor. Have you ever tried to open, say, snack packaging, only to have the bag literally burst open at the seams? Your product goes flying everywhere, leaving your customer with a ripped package and an empty stomach.

If your packaging has ruined your customers’ snack time one too many times, it’s time for an intervention.

The right product packaging should be easy to open that won’t rip at the touch of a finger. Cheaply made retail packaging made with a single layer of film is an invite to rips and tears, leaving your customers searching to snack on something else. Consider multi-layer barrier film for added strength.

If your snack bags rip and tear too easily, your customers probably hate your product packaging.

Reason #3: It’s Not Environmentally Friendly Packaging

Environmentally friendly packaging is a big deal to customers these days. In fact, they’re feeling stronger about recycling now than ever before.

A recent survey by Forum For The Future indicates that 62 percent of customers feel negatively toward brands that don’t use eco-friendly packaging. This shows us that customers are quite possibly willing to pass up your product because you aren’t offering and using environmentally friendly packaging.

And to be quite honest, there’s no excuse to continue contributing to landfill waste. You can easily get your hands on recyclable packaging for all sorts of industries.

Environmentally friendly packaging is available in the following industries:

If your company isn’t taking part with helping the environment, your customers will take notice. And not to mention, it will probably make them hate your protective packaging.

Reason #4: It’s Too Flimsy

In the world of stand up bags and packaging, flexibility is a good thing. Too much flexibility, however, makes your packaging look and feel flimsy.

When customers buy stand up bags from the store, they expect the bags to actually stand. Bags that are designed with a single layer of film will look as flimsy as they feel. They will topple over instead of standing up, defeating the entire purpose of having a stand up bag in the first place.

If you are looking to keep your customers and earn new business, you need to re-think the design of your stand up bags. Stand up bags should use at least 3 layers of quality packaging film to add protection from moisture and vapor and other negative elements and assure they stand up on the store shelf. Each layer serves its own designated purpose, and ensures that your stand up bag is flexible, not flimsy.

Don’t make your customers hate your retail packaging because of flimsiness. Add value, protection, and quality materials to your product and your brand.

Reason #5: It Won’t Stay Closed

Freezer burn, anyone? Most customers put their food away in the freezer expecting it to last for a while. But if your retail packaging doesn’t stay closed, ice seeps into the bag, causing freezer burn along with frustrating your customer.

This pet peeve doesn’t only stop inside of the freezer. I can’t tell you how many times cereal bags have done a horrible job at keeping cereal fresh, all because the bag won’t stay closed.

Raise your hand if you like waking up to a bowl of stale Cheerios.

And not to mention, think about the times that you’ve bought shredded cheese from the store, only to have the bag not seal properly after use. The next time you grab the cheese to sprinkle on your salad, it comes out all crusty. And it’s all because the bag was too flimsy, or entirely unable, to reseal.

The job of your protective packaging isn’t over after it leaves the store shelf. It needs to maintain the quality and freshness of your product until your customer is finished with the contents.

So if your bags won’t stay closed, your customers probably hate your packaging.

Stay Focused on Consumer Needs

Customers notice small details like quality zipper features on packaging, and cutting corners hardly ever pleases them. You might save some money by buying cheap protective packaging, but the real cost comes when your customers won’t consider your product again.

Give your customers some reasons to love your product packaging. Say yes to value, quality, and positive customer experience.