You’ve heard the saying “can’t eat your cake and have it too” right? Well, now you can. Some brands have thought of ways to service the customer in a “have it and eat it” sort of way and they are doing it by sending everything you need straight to your door. Dollar Shave Club may have started the widespread
Why is the box retail product so out-of-the-box? It allows the CPG marketer to act as a direct to consumer “e-tailer” and create connected experiences. Connected experiences, when properly managed, will allow the brand to have a more authentic, personal and unique experience directly with consumers because it removes the middleman. And we know that authenticity and uniqueness directly impact pricing authority.
For consumers it is easier to sample, experience and most importantly, look forward to a brand interaction every month. Here is a list of some of the top boxes we’ve seen on social media:
1. Birchbox
Birchbox is a beauty and health box that sends customers product samples every month. The 800,000 Birchbox subscribers receive 4-5 beauty, grooming and lifestyle samples from both start up and well known brands. The samples provided are generously sized and allow subscribers to get a good feeling for products and whether or not they want to continue using them. If you like the products you sample, you have the opportunity to review the product on the site and receive Birchbox points, which can be used to make a product purchase in the store online.
2. Blue Apron
With the buzz about health and diet taking over especially at the start of the New Year, food boxes are becoming increasingly more popular. Millennials are the generation leading the health food trend and value products that are organic, local and contain fewer preservatives and processed chemicals. Blue Apron sends subscribers hand picked ingredients that can be made into a meal for one or a family in less than 35 minutes. Subscriptions can be started at any time and users have the option to skip a week if they choose. Eating healthy has never been so easy.
3. Bark Box
Thought all retail boxes are just for humans? Think again. Now you can get your four-legged best friend his favorite products delivered straight to your door too! Boxes feature new treats, toys, grooming products hand picked specifically for you canine pal - and occasionally a treat for mom and dad too. Additionally, 10 percent of the company’s profits are donated to animal rescue groups. Bark Box is widely popular on Instagram and embraces an “everyone is on the team” mentality when it comes marketing and customer engagement.
What’s so great about boxes?
Embrace the Sharing economy
This trend is also a product of the Sharing Economy where millennial consumers value access over ownership. The retail box allows millennials to gain access to a multitude of brands and continue using the ones they like best. I predict this trend will continue to grow over the next few years but the boxes that can be truly disruptive will be the ones that stick around.
Turn something mundane into something exciting
How many people do you know that love going to the grocery store? For many it is a chore that they begrudgingly take on after work before their evening of excitement with Netflix on the couch. Boxes like Blue Apron turns something people resent doing into something exciting. Even something as simple as buying socks can be turned into a fun activity when they are delivered to your door in a cool box.
I get something out it
Let’s be honest, for every customer, what is his or her number one priority? Themselves. Most loyalty programs and retail engagement campaigns only work if customers see a benefit opportunity for themselves. Retail boxes reward subscribers with completely customized products that are designed to literally be exactly what the customer is looking for.
My room becomes the retail store
Smart box brands are recognizing that they don’t need to buy retail space because essentially, my room is becoming my dressing room, sample table and more. Some of the best decisions consumers make come from the comfort of their own home and brands are now catering to that mentality and bringing the retail experience directly to each individual customer in a hassle-free and convenient way.
Millennials are embracing this new retail trend because it aligns with what they are looking for in regards to brand experience: convenience, interaction and rewards. While brick and mortar retail stores will still dominate the retail space, these innovative product developments will carry weight among the millennial generation in the future. If we can learn anything from these three products, it’s that interactions between consumers and brands exist on multiple platforms and in more than just a physical space.
Leah Swartz, content specialist at FutureCast®, contributed to this post.
