A Different Kind of Package

Shelf presence. Remember when your lipstick, detergent and shampoo had to have in order stand out from the competition in food stores, drug stores and mass merchandisers? Not anymore, according to Brent Nelson, senior manager, worldwide packaging, sustainability, Amazon.

 
“I always thought the moment of truth was in the store aisle,” admitted Nelson. “E-commerce is changing that. It is about delighting the consumer and reducing packaging.”

 
Nelson was the keynote speaker at New Horizons 2017, a cleaning products conference by the Consumer Specialty Products Association. According to Nelson, who spent time at Henkel, Coca-Cola and other fast-moving consumer goods companies, during his career, the e-commerce model is designed to reduce packaging waste. The household and personal products industry must get on board or get left behind as e-commerce continues to surge. Global e-commerce sales were $1.54 trillion in 2015, according to Nelson, representing about 9% of global retail sales. By 2020, e-commerce sales are expected to top $4 trillion and account for 15% of sales.
 
 
He called on attendees and the entire household and personal care industry to partner with Amazon to innovate product and packaging for e-commerce that delivers on three primary goals:

 
• Superior technical design to differentiate and optimize consumer experience;
 
• Minimize environmental impact of packaging; and
 
• Create packaging at the lowest delivered cost.
 
 
“Packaging is of no value to the customer after they receive the package,” he reminded the audience.