Delight delivered: unboxing subscription design

If you hadn’t heard – subscription services are booming. They capitalise on consumers’ comfort with buying online, and strongly rival bricks-and-mortar retail thanks to the convenience and exclusivity offered.

Yet whilst the most popular subscription services are almost entirely about product and user experience (think Spotify and Netflix), for many other brands entering this space there’s a long list of consumer touchpoints to consider… one of the most vital being packaging.

So what can the subscription brands of the future learn about packaging design strategy from those who already do it well?

1.

For subscriptions, as with pure play e-commerce, packaging is the prime tangible touchpoint between consumer and brand.

So there’s a need to think about how you want your packaging to look, touch, smell and sound. For example, if it’s naturalness and honesty you want to convey, consider glass and natural substrates – as seen here in the Potbox example above.

2.

What will consumers do with the box once they’ve emptied it?

Explore if your packaging can offer consumers a second usage, as Yogi Surprise does. This will encourage a more meaningful relationship with consumers’ and reinforce your brand’s role in their daily lives.

3. 

Birchbox understands how important it is to avoid subscriptions beginning to feel stale. “We really view packaging as part of the experience… so, every month we want to make sure it’s unique and special”, explains their Director of Operations Pooja Agarwal. This is, of course, especially key if you offer the same product(s) each month.

All in all, subscription services present a new, creative challenge around packaging design that design agencies and brands alike need to approach with fervour – or risk disengaging their consumer.

We look forward to the next generation of best-in-class design landing on our doormats anytime soon.