Your Guide to Retail & Shelf-Ready Packaging that Drives Sales

Why stay behind when a strategic, unique, and presentable product’s presentation is at hand? Considering the ever-increasing industrial competition between brands, custom-printed retail-ready packaging (RRP) and shelf-ready packaging (SRP) are now available for your brand’s success.  Unlike ordinary packaging solutions, these bespoke boxes increase the chances of your brand’s visibility on crowded retail shelves.

They are both functional and aesthetically impressive and available at wholesale rates. Research indicates that SRP is more likely to increase a brand’s sales by up to 3-5% compared to traditional packaging. This is because of enhanced shelf appeal and product visibility. Similarly, the RRP has been shown to increase brand sales by 6-8%, with some trials reporting up to 20%.

So, you shouldn’t miss out on availing the amazing perks offered by retail and shelf-ready packaging solutions. In this blog post, we have gathered all the necessary information that you must know regarding these boxes and their countless benefits. Scroll down, and let’s begin!

Retail & Shelf-Ready Packaging Boxes – What Are They & How Do They Differ?

Here is a detailed breakdown of custom retail and shelf-ready packaging boxes:

What is Retail-Ready Packaging? A Brief Overview

It refers to the custom-printed packaging that is used to protect, present, and sell products directly to customers in a competitive retail environment. It’s primarily used to attract customers at first sight, communicate a brand’s unique values, and ensure the product’s intactness on retail shelves until it’s purchased. Corrugated cardboard, paperboard, recycled paperboard, and Kraft paper are the most common materials used in making retail-ready packaging boxes.

What are Shelf-Ready Packaging Boxes? A Short Introduction

They are a top type of retail packaging solutions, specifically designed to ensure a direct placement of products on store shelves without the need for unpackaging and repacking. Usually, supermarkets, convenience stores, and big-box retailers improve product visibility and sales efficiency. Being the pre-packed corrugated and cardboard display packaging solutions, SRP boxes are typically used for multiple items in a single packaging.

RRP Vs SRP – A Thorough Comparison to Highlight Major Differences

Highlighting the Major Perks of Using Retail-Ready Packaging (RRP) Boxes

The following are some of the compelling reasons why you should go with custom-printed retail-ready packaging boxes to stand out on the store’s shelves:

• Enhance the brand’s visibility on the crowded retail shelves and serve as a miniature billboard for businesses.
• Influence buyers’ shopping behavior by providing a stronger shelf appeal.
• Features clear printing of the brand’s logo, product name, barcodes, and category labels.
• Well-designed enough to boost sales by 20 to 30% as compared to ordinary packaging.
• Available in custom sizes and shapes to minimize product damage during display and shipping.
• Serve as multi-functional packaging for retail products.
• Fully comply with the retail industry’s unique standards.

Why Choose Shelf-Ready Packaging (SRP)? Matchless Benefits

Here are some of the wonderful benefits that make custom shelf-ready packaging boxes the top pick of various world-famous businesses. Let’s have a look at them and make an informed decision next time:

• Provide faster stocking and restocking facilities, reducing labor time and in-store costs.
• Ensure efficient inventory rotation.
• Offer 100% sustainable and cost-effective shelf-ready packaging solutions.
• Mostly designed according to standard shelf dimensions, ensuring the product’s perfect fitting into the retail shelves.
• Perfectly meets retailers’ standards for automated handling, shelf fit, and stocking speed.
• Enhance in-store marketing and brand visibility.
• Provide promising dual-purpose packaging, ensuring a product’s safe transit and display.

These are just a few of the benefits that you can get from retail-ready and shelf-ready packaging solutions. Countless more perks are also present to take your product’s packaging and brand’s sales to the next level.

Hot-Famous Types for Retail & Shelf-Ready Packaging Boxes

Here, we have gathered some of the most famous and in-demand types of custom-printed retail and shelf-ready packaging boxes. Let’s explore them:

1- Custom Tray + Hood Packaging:

It’s a bespoke cardboard tray with a removable hood or lid. Usually, such type of packaging is used in beverages, canned, and boxed food items. The easy hood removal and placement on the store’s shelves make these packaging types the best fit for a super quick setup. Many big beverage and food brands, such as Coca-Cola, go with these retail and shelf-ready packaging boxes to boost their brand’s visibility and sales in a competitive retail environment.

2- Bespoke Wrap-Around Packaging:

Typically made up of corrugated cardboard, SBS paperboard, recycled paperboard, and Kraft paper, these customized retail and shelf-ready packaging solutions are used to wrap around products, ensuring their snug fit on store shelves. Bottles, jars, snack multipacks, and other such items are generally packaged and displayed in custom-printed wrap-around packaging solutions.

3- Shelf Display Trays:

Featuring open-top or open-front structures, these customized trays are ideal for holding multiple products in a single packaging. Shelf display trays stand out in the retail environment for their potential to show a complete structure of products on the store’s shelves from all angles. Snacks, confectionery, and cosmetics are usually displayed in custom shelf display trays.

4- Perforated Tear-Away Boxes:

They are standard shipping boxes with pre-cut tear lines. Dry foods, bakery goods, and over-the-counter products are generally packaged and showcased in perforated tear-away boxes. The retail benefits of these packaging solutions include fast shelf conversion rate and the product’s impressive and neat organization on the store’s shelves. Custom-printed perforated tear-away boxes are highly used by the famous Kellogg’s snack bars and biscuit boxes.

5- Countertop Display Units:

In contrast to other retail and shelf-ready packaging boxes, custom countertop display units are smaller, branded cardboard or plastic display units. They are highly preferred for impulse-buy items, such as mints, lip balms, small toys, and other such products. Custom-printed countertop display units are specifically designed for high-traffic and point-of-sale areas in retail environments. Tic Tac, ChapStick, and many more famous brands prefer using countertop display units to effectively display their valuable products and attract more customers.

6- Retail-Ready Pallet Displays:

Highly preferred for retail-ready packaging, custom pallet displays are available in both full and half-pallet formats. They are often pre-filled with products and custom-printed with the brand’s specific details, such as logo, name, contact details, and other information. Bespoke pallet displays are mostly used for bulk products, seasonal promotions, or impulse-buy club store items. Retail-ready pallet displays are wheeled directly onto the floor, ensuring a minimal setup. Costco and Sam’s Club Displays are some of the most famous brands using these retail-ready packaging solutions for their products’ premium display.

7- Clip Strips & Peg Displays:

These are narrow, vertical strips, usually made up of high-grade cardboard or plastic. Being space-saving and modular display units, clip strips and peg displays are highly used in retail environments to maximize product visibility and brand sales. Specifically designed to cross-sell or enhance impulse buys, custom-printed clip strips & peg displays are typically hung near complementary products, on shelves, hooks, or side panels. Gums, candies, snacks, travel-sized toiletries, and hardware products are commonly packaged and showcased in clip strips and peg displays on retail shelves.

8- Stackable Modular Boxes:

Designed to be stacked securely, these boxes are fully customized to show branding on all sides. Home goods, health, and wellness items are the most common products placed in these boxes. Custom stackable modular boxes are highly preferred in the retail environment for their neat look, high-grade flexibility in store arrangement, and promising results in bulk promotions. Various brands offering pet food and cleaning products go with stackable modular boxes to ideally present products and stand out on retail shelves.

9- Auto-Dispenser Boxes:

These are some of the most advanced types of shelf-ready packaging (SRP) solutions that automatically dispense individual product units into the packaging. Having gravity-fed or push-feed mechanisms, custom auto-dispenser boxes are highly preferred for high-turnover goods. Their retail benefit is that they allow easy product rotation to maximize the product’s visibility on the store’s shelves. Tea bags, coffee pods, candies, and gummies are generally packaged and displayed in these high-end shelf-ready packaging boxes. The famous Nescafé and Orbit gum dispensers opt for these packaging solutions to appeal to a large number of buyers and multiply sales.

10- Reusable Plastic RRP Crates:

Ensuring environmental sustainability, these recyclable retail-ready packaging boxes are fully stackable and durable plastic bins, primarily used for displaying perishables. These custom-printed plastic crates are often used in closed-loop systems and package fresh dairy products, meats, and delicious bakery items. Reusable plastic RRP crates are highly famous among the world’s best retailer-owned supply chains, such as Tesco, Walmart, and many more.

Recommended List of Products to be Placed in RRP & SRP Boxes

A few of the most recommended products are enlisted below that you can package and display in retail-ready packaging (RRP) and shelf-ready packaging (SRP) boxes:

• Beverages are available in bottles, cans, cartons, and other such packages.
• Confectionary & snacks
• Personal care items & toiletries
• Pet products, such as food, small toys, and other such items.
• Packaged food items
• Over-the-counter healthcare products, including pills, healthcare equipment, syringes, and many more such products.
• Household cleaning supplies.
• Office supplies, including all kinds of stationery and small-sized electronic appliances.
• Electronic accessories, such as Bluetooth speakers, USB chargers, and other such products.
• Club store multipacks.
• Seasonal and promotional products, such as gifts, chocolates, and many more items.

8 Vital Tips to Create the Best RRP & SRP Boxes

Follow the eight amazing tips given below and create the best-quality retail-ready and shelf-ready packaging boxes to attract a large number of buyers in no time:

1- Look for the 5 Essential Retail-Ready Principles:

First, check out the following 5 key elements in RRP/SRP boxes. This is what big brands, such as Walmart, Tesco, and Costco, often look for in custom-printed retail-ready and shelf-ready packaging boxes:

1. Clear branding details and product information that make the packaging easy to identify.
2. Perforations or tear strips that make SRP/RRP boxes easy to open and use.
3. Lightweight, sturdy composition, and simple stocking features that ensure the box’s easy placement on the store’s shelves.
4. Products’ visibility and accessibility to customers make the box easy to shop.
5. Recyclability features that ensure the easy disposal of an SRP/RRP package.

2- Consider the Box’s Functionality in Mind:

While designing custom-printed shelf-ready or retail-ready packaging boxes, ensure the box’s quick assembly and minimal need of tools to open it. Make sure that the boxes are stacked safely during transport and on the shelf. Prefer installing interlocking tabs or foldable features to minimize plastic or tape usage.

3- Maximize the Box’s Visibility on the Store’s Shelves:

It’s the most crucial tip that you must not ignore at any cost. By maximizing the box’s visibility on the store’s shelves, you are more likely to boost sales and profit in no time. Here are some valuable tips that help you stand out on the store’s shelves:

• Use bright, contrasting colors to highlight the imprinted information on custom boxes.
• Add bold logos for easy brand recognition.
• Position the product’s vital information, such as flavor, size, benefits, and usage, on the front-facing edge of the SRP/RRP boxes.

4- Ensure a Clean & Easy Opening for SRP/RRP Boxes:

For high-end box functionality, it’s essential to ensure a clean and easy opening for SRP/RRP boxes. The following are some of the vital tips that help you to ensure a seamless opening for retail and shelf-ready packaging solutions:

• Create precise and clean openings with laser-perforated tear lines.
• Add thumb holes or pull tabs for easy access by stockers.
• Avoid tearing into graphics or weakening the structure when opened.

5- Don’t Ignore Sustainability:

In today’s competitive era, the brands offering eco-friendly packaging solutions stand ahead. Therefore, don’t overlook creating the sustainable retail-ready and shelf-ready packaging boxes. Use recyclable or biodegradable materials, such as Kraft paper, recycled cardboard, corrugated board, and other such materials. Reduce empty spaces in the manufacturing materials. This helps to cut down on excess packaging. Moreover, use water and soy-based inks to make the packaging and printing more eco-friendly.

6- Ensure Supply Chain Efficiency:

Design retail or shelf-ready packaging boxes in a perfect way that works best across all storage, display, and transit logistics. Use standardized pallet sizes and box dimensions to optimize your product’s packaging for display and shipping. Place QR codes and barcodes on the packaging boxes in an accessible manner so that they can be easily scanned from all directions.

7- Perform Durability Tests:

Check out the box’s durability to ensure the product’s safety and longevity while displayed on the store’s shelves. Perform drop tests, compression tests, and moisture-resistant tests to make sure that the packaging can handle all sorts of transport vibrations and handling stress. Apart from this, you are recommended to reinforce corners and bottom panels to ensure the sturdiest box composition.

8- Perfectly Customize the Packaging for the Retail Environment:

Customize the retail-ready and shelf-ready packaging boxes to meet your brand’s specific needs and customers’ demands. First, consider where the products will be sold, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, club stores, or any other places. Once the place is clear, customize the product’s packaging accordingly. For a flexible shelf placement, add custom branding details on all sides of the packaging.

Some Bonus Tips

• Design modular packaging for the perfect stacking of multiple products.
• Add clear instructions for shelf stocking.
• Don’t overdesign. Go with simple, bold, and functional features.

Final Words

All in all, custom-printed retail-ready and shelf-ready packaging boxes are excellent solutions to boost your brand’s visibility on the store’s shelves, ultimately resulting in a high sales ratio and profitability. Considering this fact, CPP Boxes has stepped out with a limitless variety of bespoke SRP/RRP boxes at wholesale rates. Want to have a 100-unit minimum order quantity of custom retail-ready/shelf-ready packaging boxes? Contact us right now! Our supportive sales representatives are available 24/7 at 888-395-0493 and quotes@cppboxes.com. Book your order today and get the best-quality packaging boxes right at your location within 7-9 business days with free shipping services.