Retail these days is all about making your products available online and properly marketing it. If you are an up-and-coming online retailer, you will spend a lot of your time fulfilling product orders by placing them in shipping boxes and sending them off to your customers. Because the box itself can be the first impression on a new customer of your business, it is crucial that you are using only quality shipping box supplies. While you may be thinking that a box is just a box, this simply is not the case. Take a look at some of the top features you should be looking for in shipping boxes for your online retail business. 

1. Corrugated Construction - Corrugated cardboard is basically two sheets of material that are lined on the inside with textured or structured paper pieces. This inner structure gives boxes the rigidity to withstand a bit of rough handling during transit. Therefore, they are better built to handle your products and will keep them better protected than a basic cardboard box that has no corrugation. Corrugated boxes do not bend or fold so easily. Plus they better withstand moisture that can be a natural threat during the shipping process. 

2. Customizable Exterior - You want your customer to see your package in the mail or on their doorstep and know right away who the delivery is from, so having the option to customize the boxes for your online retail business is important. many box manufacturers offer full customization options, which will allow you to have boxes created for you that have things like the company logo, address, or other information printed on the outside. Custom corrugated boxes are a great combination for visibility and durability.

3. Storability - In retail, shipping is a major part of your daily process, which means you are going to need a lot of boxes on hand in your shipping facility to handle customer orders. Because of this, it is important that the boxes you buy in bulk are easy to store. Look for boxes that fold completely flat, which most of them do, but also boxes that come in bundles that are easy to handle and can easily be stacked on a shelf and retrieved as needed. 

You may only see a box as a box, but the fact of the matter is that this is a highly important part of your business as an online retailer. Talk to a custom packaging company to find out more about features to look for in quality shipping containers.