We are officially six months away from Black Friday shopping and the official start of the holiday season! While it may be early in the Summer still, now is the time to start brainstorming and designing your packaging for this year’s Black Friday shopping rush. While some may think it may be too early, please keep in mind that it may take a few months for an order to be completed. Given the time frame, this gives our customers time to reinvent their packaging collections to reflect the busy yet festive shopping seasons ahead.

When creating unique packaging for Black Friday shopping, it’s important to have a wide variety of shopping bags, in-store shoppers, gift with purchases, gift boxes and accessories. These items will accommodate your customers’ shopping needs in store. On the other hand, many people are still shopping online. You can craft your Black Friday packaging towards ecommerce with pouches, ribbons, tissue and shipping boxes. Tote bags are also a great addition to any commerce or in-store packaging collection. They are trendy, can hold all of your belongings, and act as extra advertisement. All of these items double as gift packaging. So, that when the item arrives, it can be given as a gift, no need to rewrap.

Black Friday Shopping: In Store

When it comes to in store shopping this holiday season, reusable in store shoppers assist your customers in comfortably carrying a large number of items. Branded shopping bags, whether they are paper, or reusable are the perfect seasonal advertisement for your brand. These bags can double as walking ads outside of the store. Finally, gift boxes and accessories put the finishing touches on your Black Friday purchases.

In addition to in store shopping items, a great add-on item is a gift with purchase. Whether it be a small pouch or tote bag, gift with purchase items support customer purchases. Gift with purchases will make the customer happy about receiving a gift from your brand. The quality and durable nature of your promotional products create a unique store atmosphere. As a bonus, they double as advertising for your brand outside of the store (along with your shopping bags). Having a cohesive look for your gift with purchase products are great ways to connect with customers on a personal level. With the right materials and treatments, your collection will become a great way to advertise your brand.

When it comes to designing your in store and gift with purchase items, they can be as simple or as intricate as your brand. Your shopping bags, gift boxes and gift with purchase items can be made memorable with cool graphics. Add them to reusable materials like nylon, mesh, pp non-woven, cotton or any type of kraft or specialty papers. Finally, add the finishing touches with specialty treatments. Laminations, spot uv or foil hot stamping are great ways to start. A few simple treatments can completely change the look of your Black Friday shopping collection.

Black Friday Shopping: Ecommerce

Even though many plan to shop in stores during Black Friday, many will still shop online. When creating your Black Friday ecommerce collection, some items to consider are: mailers, mailer boxes; and the finishing touches – packaging tape, stickers and tissue. These items are important to have because they not only dress up any package, but they add to your customer’s shopping experience. Adding a bonus gift like a tote bag can also add to the customer’s unboxing experience.

First, mailers are important to have and are completely customizable. With your company’s branding, mailers can also double as giftwrap. Making your products easy to directly send to the recipient. They are great to customize with a wide selection of films and treatments. Mailers come in any size imaginable and lay flat, making them easy to ship. If your company is shipping fragile items, bubble mailers are great to consider. Bubble mailers are a great addition to any Black Friday shopping collection as they safely ship fragile items with extra interior padding.

Black Friday Shopping: Ecommerce Cont’d

In addition to flat mailers, mailer boxes are a practical and useful packaging piece to have for Black Friday and beyond. Many companies use custom mailer boxes to ship out large or fragile product to their customers. When a customer receives their purchase in branded mailer boxes, this is the first element of your company that the customer sees. Therefore, it’s important to make your company stand out.

Once your customer has made their purchases online, it’s important to add the finishing touches. Stickers, ribbon, tape and tissue are the perfect elements to make your customer’s online purchases feel like a gift. Each of these pieces make your brand easily recognizable. Even the smallest details will influence the look of your brand. The custom designs and unique printing of your company’s ecommerce items will give your customers something eye catching and seasonal.

 Creating Your Black Friday Packaging Collection

When creating unique products for Black Friday shopping, it’s important to consider current and upcoming trends along with timeless treatments and materials. Some new trends to incorporate are:

• Jewel Tones – Bold hues including amethyst, ruby, deep jade and sapphire set an impactful yet magical tone. Add these shades onto your shopping bags with gold or silver metallic hot stamping. Mix or match jewel tones onto a gift box with matching velvet flocking and ribbon for luxe giftwrapping. Finally, mix and match jewel tones on a selection of seasonal materials like velvet, satin, kraft paper or specialty art papers.
• Die Cuts – Adding subtle die cuts onto shopping bags or gift boxes creates an edgy look and feel to your packaging items. Die cuts are able to showcase the product while keeping it safe. Use Die cut handles on paper or reusable shopping bags. This feature can fit into any brand identity.
• Neutral tones – A timeless classic for Fall and Winter. Neutrals provide a warm and earthy feel to any packaging collection. Use neutrals alone or pair together for a monochromatic look. For a current design your customers will love, custom print, hot stamp luxurious neutrals onto any material of your choice. For a finishing touch, pair neutrals with metallics or lamination for a luxurious finish.

Looking Forward to Black Friday Shopping

Towards the end of the year, there are many events and holidays to look forward to. With the combination of trends, materials and treatments, your Black Friday shopping items can reflect the holidays and beyond. Black Friday and the holiday season are special times for everyone. Give your customers something unique, seasonal, and luxurious. Black Friday inspired packaging is something that can be kept or to use again as gift wrap.