Retail Bags and Boxes

Guide to Retail Bags, Boxes and Cartons

Use packaging that fits your marketing and branding efforts
By Holly Ocasio Rizzo

	Shopping Bags Takeaways Reusable shopping bags with your logo can be a great marketing tool Time your gift boxes and bags orders for well ahead of the holiday season Colorful tissue can be a cost effective way to dress up inexpensive gift boxes and bags

For many retailers, choosing the retail bags, shopping bags, retail boxes and shipping cartons for purchased merchandise falls to the bottom of the to-do list. But that can be a mistake. Not only do these simple items serve a primary function of protecting your products once they leave your store, but they can also be powerful marketing tools. Customers expect a shopping bag, retail box or carton to perform to certain standards – it shouldn't break easily, for example. Your shopping bags and boxes speak volumes about your company image, reinforcing your brand with consumers. And consider this: a shopping bag with your company name on it can become a sort of walking billboard advertising your business. That's a lot of bang for your buck. To get the most out of your retail bags, boxes and cartons, consider:

1. The protection provided. Be sure the shopping bag is roomy enough and sturdy enough to carry items safely and without breakage.
2. How much storage space you can devote to retail bags and boxes. Plastic and polypropylene bags take up less room than paper; collapsible boxes, less room than hard boxes.
3. Whether form is as important as function to your business. Some small retail businesses project an image of elegance by wrapping items in tissue and placing them in flat-bottom bags with handles or elegant gift boxes with a logo; others prefer the practicality of reusable plastic or polypropylene bags with their business name, address and phone number printed on the side.

Action Steps for Choosing the Right Shopping Bags and Boxes

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Discover the best shopping bags for your biz There are hundreds of retail shopping bag styles available. The right choice depends on several factors: your industry, your image and your merchandise size and weight. For instance, restaurants need plastic bags with handles for take-out orders (for this polypropylene bags are ideal). Upscale boutiques often select flat-bottom shopping bags with handles.

I recommend:  PaperMart.com touts itself as the most complete packaging store on the Web with hundreds of retail bag styles in stock. Uline offers dozens of paper shopping, merchandise, food and specialty shopping bags as well as plastic handle bags, frosty bags, food bags and special polypropylene bags. Upscale shopping gift boxes and bags can be found at ActionBag.com.

Retail gift boxes can offer distinction, or basic protection Retail boxes can give your products an air of distinction and can provide protection, too. A retail box life-span and walking billboard aspects can be extended when it is elegant enough to be used as a gift box.

I recommend:  Find dozens of box styles at BoxDepot.com. Uline.com offers retail gift boxes, display boxes, apparel boxes, food boxes and specialty boxes. KC Store Fixtures offers basic retail store supplies, including gift boxes and bags.

Select retail cartons for more specialized needs Cartons are a must-have if you ship items to customers. The type you choose depends on the weight and size of the merchandise.

I recommend:  For standard cartons, visit PaperMart.com. They stock hundreds of cartons large and small and sell in quantities as low as 10 per bundle.

Look into packaging extras If your budget only allows for the most basic shopping bags or boxes, add some flair with decorative tissue paper, ribbons or fills.

I recommend:  Find the basics for all your packaging needs, including tissue in every color of the rainbow, ribbons and bows from Iowa Retail Packaging. For unique ribbons, ties, tissue, warp and fills, visit CreativeBag.com.

Creative options If you really want to make a statement with your retail packages, choose a shopping bag or box in a unique shape or color that reflects your company image. Baskets can also make a statement.

I recommend:  CreativeBag.com offers unique shopping bags and boxes in a variety of shapes, colors and materials, including felt, leather and tin containers. VeriPack offers a number of unique retail packaging supplies, including baskets.

Get printing on your shopping bags Most retail packaging suppliers also offer shopping bag printing options. Budget-conscious business owners may want to look into pre-printed shopping bags and boxes. Custom printing options, such as ink and hot stamping, can reinforce your brand and turn your bags and boxes into ads.

I recommend:  For custom printing on boxes, bags, ribbons or tissue, try NashvilleWraps.com. Smurfit-Stone's custom graphics group offers pre-printed boxes and direct-print boxes, which are ideal for short runs. Iowa Retail Packaging offers hot stamping so you can have your logo foil placed on each shopping bag and box.

Gift boxes and bags Create an upscale ambience by offering free wrapping using gift boxes and bags. Keep it simple by offering one or two papers and a few choices of ribbon.

I recommend:  Among its full line of retail packaging offerings, Bag & Bows carries 100-foot rolls of gift wrap and ribbons in many different patterns and styles.

Tips & Tactics for Saving Money on Shopping Bags and Boxes

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Track the use of your shopping bags and boxes to ensure accurate ordering. You can save money by purchasing wholesale shopping bags, but only if you'll use the whole batch.
• Reorder before you're close to running out; this is especially important during the busy holiday season, September through November for most retail bag and box suppliers.
• If your custom shopping bags run short, go generic. Most suppliers can deliver plain bags and boxes quickly to get you through the crunch. Even inexpensive polypropylene bags will suffice during a crunch (and they take minimal storage space, in case you want to keep them on-hand).