More than 95% of goods consumed in North America today are contained and transported in corrugated packaging. Why?
Whether you’re packaging by the case or individually, nothing safely moves a product from point A to point B more effectively or efficiently than corrugated. It is specifically engineered to protect and cushion products along their journey. Delivery trucks have become a familiar site as they make the rounds, dropping off corrugated boxes throughout the U.S. The box is the go-to choice for e-commerce as consumers move more and more to online shopping.
Guilt-free shipping
The good news is that the growth of e-commerce is not increasing the amount of corrugated going to waste. In fact, more than 90% of corrugated packaging is successfully recycled to make new paper products. As the corrugated recovery rate consistently exceeds that of all other packaging materials, the industry’s overall environmental footprint also continues to improve. Consumers taking advantage of online shopping and home delivery options can rest assured that the shipping boxes coming into their homes can be recycled. In fact, the corrugated industry needs to collect those boxes so they can make new ones.
Cost-effective and fast
E-commerce depends on quick turnaround. It requires highly flexible supply chain operations that can adapt quickly to accommodate new technologies in order to fulfill the promise of increased efficiency — and speed. To satisfy e-commerce customers, corrugated boxes can be counted on to deliver the right product, to the right destination at the right price.
Corrugated checks all the “boxes” for these demands. It is easy to manufacture, to customize for different sizes, and ensures that products reach their purchasers in pristine condition. In short, the innovations that we see as e-commerce evolves are best accommodated by thinking “inside the box.”
Fulfilling a growing demand
The COVID-19 pandemic and quarantines have taken a big bite out of retail sales worldwide. At the same time, already substantial growth in e-commerce has escalated dramatically, helping consumers shop without leaving their homes and providing contactless delivery of the items they buy. A recent market study – adjusted to reflect tremendous changes brought about by the pandemic – predicts e-commerce sales in the US will increase by 18% in 2020 to $709 billion, while brick-and-mortar retail spending, is expected to decrease 14.0% to $4.184 trillion.
Ecommerce is forecast to reach 14.5% of total retail sales in 2020, representing both an all-time high and the biggest share increase in a single year.
The supply chain is having to adapt quickly to keep pace with these changes. Corrugated’s protective features, cost-effectiveness and recyclability make it the ideal choice as markets embrace both e-commerce and sustainability.
The relative toughness of corrugated packaging fits perfectly with the demands of e-commerce. Due to increasingly complex supply chains, packages are handled an estimated 20 times in the delivery process. Plus, they have to stand up to warehouse conditions and lend themselves to easy storage. Corrugated fits the bill in all cases and will continue to be the dominant e-commerce delivery system.
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