Apply a stroke of science to your shipping labels

And increase brand love, loyalty, word of mouth and purchase intent

Last month we revealed the results of our scientific study into the impact of label design. It covered three key elements starting with desk research on what studies already exist to eye tracking insight to online experiments with over 1,100 participants. It’s the most in-depth study to-date on the impact that product and shipping labels can have on an ecommerce business.

One of the biggest discoveries was the power of multiple labels or stickers when sending out packages. It revealed that the use of multiple labels when shipping items was particularly effective at influencing behaviours.

Add additional labels
Avery Parcel Labels

Four statistics to remember next time you ship products

When multiple labels were tested in our online experiment it resulted in the following positive outcomes. We saw increases in brand love by as much as 129%, perception of quality by 116%, purchase intent by 113% and word of mouth recommendation by 135%. However, your shipping labels should always have a clear purpose or it can be confusing for the recipient. Don’t cover parcels with lots of different labels for the sake of it and take time to think about what your labels will achieve and how you can make each one as effective as possible.

Show your branding on the address label

Four labels you should use when shipping products

Address labels – An address label can have a dual purpose as not only is it there to make sure your products arrive with the customer, but when you add your logo it can give the recipient confidence that it is from a trusted source. Adding icons and images and using bold colours also proved successful in our label experiments. 

Branding – Adding labels that include your company branding is another effective way of building up trust and confidence with your customer. With so much junk mail being sent out and ignored, it’s important that your parcel, package or mail is spotted by the customer and then opened.

Make sure you adda return address label

Return address – Whilst this label can prevent items from getting lost in the post, it’s also another way of reinforcing that the item is from a professional and trusted outlet.

 

Special messaging – Our research discovered that adding surprise was a successful way of influencing behaviour. Placing labels on your package with a special message will help attract attention and can influence future purchase behaviour. Special messages could be “Look what’s inside”, “Just for you” or “Handmade with pride”

If you run an ecommerce business we recommend that you read the Every Label Tells A Story report below to discover more hints and tips on getting the most from your shipping labels.

Download the Every Label Tells A Story report

You can read the full and detailed results of the study by downloading the report. This reveals the best ways for you to get the most out of your labels.

It includes a breakdown of the research findings as well as a guide to why certain label designs performed better in the experiments.

Next time you design a label, use our handy 15-point checklist to creating label designs that work.