Key question
How do you make opening a package a great experience?
Packaging isn't just looked at; it's opened, touched, resealed and disposed of. These moments shape how customers experience a brand. In e-commerce, the unboxing experience even replaces the in-store moment.
Learning objective: You can design opening mechanisms, haptics, and the unboxing experience while taking easy opening, transit protection, and waste into consideration.
Opening is the first handshake.
7.1 / Open and touch
Hands remember.
Four aspects determine how the opening feels:
01
Opening mechanism
Tear strip, perforation, flap or slide box: the way in must be clear.
02
Feel
Surface, weight, and resistance convey quality, often more powerfully than images.
03
Easy to open
Easy to open without much effort, a knife, or a magnifying glass – even for older people.
04
Reseal
What you use repeatedly needs a closure that lasts.
Accessibility starts with opening: an easy-to-grip tab and clear instructions like 'Open here' help everyone. What works for people with limited hand strength is simply more convenient for all.
Having to search only leads to frustration.
7.2 / Shipping and Unboxing
The parcel is the new shop.
In e-commerce, the shipping box is the first point of contact with the brand. It needs to protect the product, be easy to open, and require as little void fill as possible. A simple print on the inside can make more of an impact than an elaborate outer sleeve.
Dramaturgy means: tension builds step by step. However, it must not come at the expense of the environment. Good unboxing is short, surprising and leaves little waste behind.
01
Dramaturgy
A deliberate sequence of unboxing moments.
02
Shipping protection
The product arrives in one piece, without mountains of packaging material.
03
Tear strip
Opens the box quickly and without a knife.
Short, surprising, low waste.
7.3 / Planning the journey
Every touchpoint counts.
An unboxing journey describes every moment from receiving the parcel through to its disposal. For each moment, you ask: What are customers seeing, feeling, and doing here? Where is protection, information, or a little surprise needed?
Less is often more: three to five well-thought-out moments have a greater impact than ten random ones. Don't forget about the end of the journey either, such as resealing, returns and disposal.
Also plan the end of the journey.
Exercise
Testing an unboxing
Task: Plan and test the unboxing of an online parcel from "Alpenkraut".
STEP 1
Plan the journey in the tool with a maximum of five touchpoints.
STEP 2
Build a simple shipping box with contents made from paper and cardboard.
STEP 3
Have a test participant unbox it and observe them without helping.
STEP 4
Note down stumbling blocks and improve one step.
Evaluation: Was the test person able to open everything without help and without a knife?