The last few years have seen the advent of online shopping. The amount of products sold online, especially products that transfer straight from the retailer to the consumer, have increased exponentially. The Coronavirus pandemic saw this number raise even higher in March when national lockdowns where put in place and many people who hadn’t already, switched to online retailers. This Christmas it is expected that much of the seasonal buying will occur online. With Christmas, Black Friday and Boxing Day coming up, the workloads of online retailers will be beyond extensive. Meeting the demands of the busiest time of year could put a serious strain on businesses if they don’t have the facilities to meet their packaging requirements. That is why outsourcing your packaging requirements to an external packaging company or co-packaging company might help save Christmas for your business and your customers.

Christmas shopping will consist mostly of online purchases this year, as ‘nearly three quarters of UK consumers announced, even before the second lockdown, that they would be avoiding shopping in store this Christmas’, according to the BCMPA. Despite the gradual growth in online sales in recent years, this will still be a huge jump for many businesses. The gradual move to online sales has been great for a number of small businesses who have used the online sphere to reach customers they could never have reached without it. This Christmas could be make or break for them as Christmas 2020 shows which online retailers can cope with the demand and which cannot. For many the increased demand has come on suddenly. In normal situations, demand would have increased gradually and brands would have had the time to take stock of their incomes and decide where to invest. They would have, in theory, had the chance to gradually scale up at a pace that suited them, their businesses and their budgets. The recent surge in online retailing has not allowed for such considered scaling up and many businesses face massively increased demand without the facilities to meet those demands.

Whilst this might prove a stressful turn of events for many business owners, it does not mean the situation can’t be easily resolved. There are options for online retail companies to outsource their packaging and co-packing requirements to third party packaging companies. These businesses have already invested in the industrial packaging equipment required for professional packaging solutions, meaning smaller businesses don’t have to expend significant portions of their budgets on investing in packaging equipment. It is a great way to scale up your production without having to immediately expend huge amounts of capital. That’s why outsourcing your packaging could be the key to your success this holiday season. You can use your capital to invest in your product rather than in equipment, ensuring you have the best possible product coming to market, showing you can cope with the high demand and you can create a name for your brand as reliable and high quality.

There are a swath of reasons why companies should outsource their packaging on top of this reason. One major reason is that it allows companies to reduce the amount of stress they have to deal with at any given time, especially during high intensity periods such as Christmas. Furthermore, using third party packaging companies allows you to take advantage of the significant packaging expertise gained by these businesses throughout their existence. Packaging companies are already aware of the many practises going on in the industry and know which ones work best for particular products. They have the ability to offer you the most up to date packaging methods, with the most high quality materials, sourced at the best price. They can then use their industrial level equipment to pack your products in the most professional and long-lasting way. In normal circumstances using third party packaging services makes sense, in the particular circumstances brought about by the global pandemic and the resulting restrictions, it makes even greater sense.

Rodney Steel, chief executive of the BCMPA, was recently quoted saying, “Major brands usually have the firepower and finance to switch to new ways of selling, but for many smaller brands it can be unknown territory. This is where outsourcing makes total sense, enabling businesses to tap into the expertise of our members across the supply chain to deliver their products to customers and at the same time ensuring they derive the full brand experience.” In 2020 this could not make more sense. If you’re a smaller online brand who fears they will struggle to cope with the increased demand brought on Black Friday, Christmas and post Christmas sales, then do not think you are alone. Also don’t do nothing about your fears, research the amazing out-sourcing possibilities available to your business this festive period.

Christmas won’t be the same as usual in many respects this year. That’s not to say it won’t be amazing, especially for smaller brands who have the chance to use the move to online retail to their advantage. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures and if this means engaging with third party packaging and co-packing companies it could actually be an excellent move for your business. Don’t falter under the pressure of increased demand this Christmas, make us of the amazing outsourcing opportunities available as you to as a small business and we might just be able to save Christmas day after all.