Have you ever experienced “wrap rage”?
Yes, a term has been coined from the frustration you feel when you spend an inconsiderable amount of time struggling to open a package.
Most countries don’t have statistics on the number of people who get hurt opening a package, but in Great Britain, they do. And they found that in just one year, 67,000 people got injuries ranging from cut fingers to sprained wrists, from just wrestling with wrapping.
That is the main reason why Amazon launched the Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP) program. It lessens the materials used in packaging and reduces waste while ensuring that the minimal materials are essential to protect the products while in transit and using recyclable materials only to promote an eco-friendly lifestyle. Moreover, its primary goal is to simplify the customer’s experience when opening their long-awaited Amazon package.
Amazon is a highly customer-focused company. Their ideas have allowed people to buy the largest selection of products at the best possible prices. Amazon also ensures that products are delivered far quicker than most other online retailers. Of course, Amazon is a company that constantly strives to innovate, and it has now started to tackle packaging head-on.
If you sell your products via Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you may qualify for the Amazon frustration-free packaging service. Participating in this program may lead to a more significant number of sales and lower costs. Let’s tell you what it is all about.
What is Frustration-Free Packaging?
Frustration-free packaging does pretty much what it says on the tin. It is when a product is packaged in such a way to ensure that it is easy for a customer to open. Amazon expects all frustration-free products to be opened up in under 2-minutes.
Frustration-free packaging should not require any tools to open, e.g., you should not have to use knives or scissors to cut through the packaging.
Frustration-free packaging also requires minimizing the excess packaging. There should be little in the way of extra packaging material inside the box. In other words, there should be barely any wastage after the buyer opens the product box.
How Does Frustration-Free Packaging Works?
Sellers must provide the most conducive packaging for the product to protect it during delivery instead of bubble wrap or any excess packaging. The seller needs to place the product in the Amazon box provided by the company, and it is all set for delivery. So easy!
Who Qualifies for Frustration-Free Packaging?
You can’t just start selling on Amazon and claim that your product ships in frustration-free packaging. Amazon will need to certify your product first. However, this certification process is 100% free. The only cost is the shipping of your products to Amazon. The process will take about a couple of days to weeks.
To pass the certification process, your product packaging must:
- Be quick to open up
- Requires the use of no tools to open, i.e., the product cannot be in a blister pack.
- The packaging consists of 100% recyclable materials
- The package must be able to ship without an Amazon box surrounding it.
- The packaging doesn’t contain excess materials.
Of course, Amazon decides on each product on its own merits. The certification process does tend to be pretty quick. In most cases, it shouldn’t take more than a few days after you have shipped the product to Amazon.
Once your product has passed the certification process, you can market your product as ‘Supplied in Frustration-Free Pack.’ You will end up in more searches aging’ on the product page.
Frustration-Free Packaging promotes a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, a trend that most Ecommerce customers are seeking nowadays. But of course, less packaging means lesser protection. So, checking the feedback rating is a habit that a seller should have to monitor the overall customer experience.
The Benefits of Frustration-Free Packaging to Amazon Sellers
- Reducing the packaging also results in lower costs of materials, shipping fees, and labor.
- Amazon sellers who use FFP are more likely to increase in sales because most people nowadays seek a sustainable lifestyle.
- Satisfactory Customer experience means good feedback rating;
- Good feedback rating means that the customers trust you and Amazon’s regard for quality excellence is upheld. Thus your reputation in the industry heightens.
Amazon does not offer shipping price reductions if you ship in frustration-free packaging. Well, at least not directly. The shipping fees can be the same as any other FBA product.
However, you may be able to make savings in other ways. Because the whole idea of frustration-free packaging is to minimize wastage, the chances are that if you work toward getting your product certified for this scheme, the package will weigh less. This way, you’ll be saving money on the shipping costs.
According to SageMailer, Amazon has some services you can participate in only if you use a frustration-free packaging program. For instance, you will not obtain reviews through the Amazon Vine service unless you use this type of packaging. Since product reviews will be vital for the success of your products on Amazon, you will lose a lot of business without frustration-free packaging.
As we said before, Amazon will highlight when a product is supplied in this type of packaging too. This badge is beneficial to your company. Some people will only purchase products supplied in frustration-free packaging. Many people will also love the fact that your products are a bit ‘greener than the competition.
Amazon heavily promotes these products a little bit more in the searches too. So you can get more traffic if you package your products up in the correct type of packaging. And, as you know, more traffic means more sales.
Final Word
If you believe that the products you sell are in frustration-free packaging, we suggest looking into this program. While Amazon will not offer you any direct savings if you ship in certified packaging, there are other long-term benefits in place. It pretty much boils down to an increased number of sales and more profit.