E-commerce packaging shows why it’s hip to be square

During the recent holiday shipping frenzy, the average consumer likely overlooked an important element of e-commerce: the shape of their packages.

When it comes to the efficient movement of goods through the supply chain via e-commerce channels, squared-off designs like cardboard boxes reign. Some say that form is better for marketing and transportation emissions reduction efforts, too.

In certain cases, brands are transitioning away from flexible packaging and toward rigid square or rectangular shapes; sometimes they’re making a return to boxes after using other formats for a while. Performance, efficiency and sustainability factors play a role in the choice toward “squarification;” flexible packaging can be prone to getting squashed and moved around in transit more than boxes.

But there’s a key reason box-shaped packaging currently dominates e-commerce: robots. 

“E-commerce is becoming increasingly automated,” Leon Nicholas, vice president of retail insights and solutions at Smurfit Westrock, told Packaging Dive. “Robots generally do better with things that are squared and perfectly dimensionalized.”

The robots used in e-commerce fulfillment typically pick up objects via suction, and they generally aren’t able to grab flexibles as well as boxes.

“It’s very, very difficult to utilize mailers or any kind of really flexible packaging material with automation. Automation always works best when something is sort of rigid and square or rectangular,” said Greg Walls, vice president of revenue at cartonization software company Paccurate.

Squarification isn’t just a design consideration for secondary packaging, either. Some brands are transitioning to rigid square or rectangle packaging as more products ship in their own containers, known as SIOC. Consumer products like snacks or pet food that traditionally used flexible packaging in some cases are showing up in boxes, which are ideal for SIOC. The same is true for certain products that primarily used to be sold in bottles or jugs, such as wine and laundry detergent.

Plus, fo…