IP closes plants in California and Kentucky
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The trend towards convenient e-commerce shopping goes hand in hand with an increased risk of damaged deliveries. According to a study by DS Smith, more than three quarters of online shoppers have already received damaged goods. The financial impact of damaged shipments is significant.
According to the survey, more than half of Germans (52%) intend to more time at home due to the rising cost of living to spend their holidays. These holidays are to be embellished with so-called "comfort purchases": Four in ten (42%) say they will spend their money on small luxuries instead of going out.
The market research was conducted in November 2022 by OnePoll on behalf of DS Smith and also shows that the Trend towards convenient e-commerce shopping with an increased risk of damaged deliveries goes hand in hand with this. Overall, almost 76 per cent of online shoppers state that they have already received a damaged item. Last year alone, more than half (53%) of German online shoppers received a damaged parcel. The most common complaint is that the parcel was crushed due to a lack of stability and the product inside was damaged (52%).
The financial impact of damaged deliveries is significant. 45 per cent of online shoppers who have received damaged parcels are angry, disappointed (32%) and annoyed (26%). Four out of ten consumers (37%) also state that they are, that they would hesitate to buy from a retailer or online shop againif a product arrives damaged.
"Nobody wants to receive damaged goods, and the shift in shopping behaviour this Black Friday towards more smaller, feel-good purchases shows how important it is that packaging meets the extensive requirements of the e-commerce supply chain. That way, customers aren't disappointed and retailers don't have to bear the cost of replacing items."
Thomas Müller, Head of E-Commerce Germany and Switzerland at DS Smith
"DS Smith specialises in the development and optimisation of sustainable and recyclable packaging solutions for online retail. Among other things, we have realised that the answer lies not in more, but in more intelligent packagingthat are precisely tailored to the specific requirements, while at the same time minimising the environmental impact," says Müller. "A perfect example of this are omnichannel packaging that enables shipping in the product packaging and thus not only optimally protect the product, but also the resources used for it and the brand."
To ensure that the packaging design is conceived as sustainably as possible, DS Smith trained more than 700 of its designers in the application of its circular design principles. These guidelines enable the various phases of a product's life cycle to be taken into account.
DS Smith also offers extensive expertise in validating the performance of packaging for e-commerce, such as the DISCS test and simulation procedure. Named after the types of test it performs (drop, impact, shock, crush, shake), DISCS tracks the distance travelled by a product, to ensure that the packaging is suitable for the respective purpose. This keeps the product safe during transport and avoids unnecessary packaging. In addition to DISCS offers DS Smith also offers SIOC (ship-in-own-container) certification in its test laboratories.
Source: DS Smith
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