Here at S. Walter Packaging we are firm believers in the importance of retail packaging for stores and businesses. There are multiple advantages to a coordinated in-store packaging program. Attractively branded bags connect customers to the store and thus engender customer loyalty. (See our previous blog post for more on this.)

Obviously, for in-store purchases, shopping bags have a distinctly utilitarian purpose: customers use their comfortably handled bag to carry merchandise from the shop. But once out of the store, shopping bags have an added impact. Spotted on the street, they provide free advertising for the store. When reused for other purposes, branded shopping bags remind customers of their purchases and forge a connection between shopper and shop.

This is relevant to a growing trend that has come to our attention recently: including a branded shopping bag in a shipment for an online purchase. With more and more customers doing their shopping online, and a large number still using catalogs to make purchase, it makes sense to try and increase brand loyalty with shipped as well as in-store sales.

At first glance, including a shopping bag with a shipment of clothes or other merchandise may seem counter-intuitive. After all, the customer is receiving the shipment in his or her mailbox, not carrying the products out of a store. But what if the shipment is to be used as a gift? A gift bag makes a ready-made gift package. And a shopping bag in a mailbox has all the add-on value of one carried from a store: customers are likely to reuse it, providing advertising and increasing customer loyalty.

Good retail packaging is not just for stores these days!

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S. Walter Packaging offers a full selection of paper and plastic shopping bags in a range of sizes, styles, and colors. Browse our online catalog or contact a customer representative to learn how packaging can carry your brand further!