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Magnetic boxes make product packaging better in a snap. Brands are increasingly turning to self-closing magnetic boxes due to their visual allure, reliable closure, and durability. Magnetic closure is commonly used on boxes housing:

• Food and refreshments
• High-end chocolates
• Medicine
• Toys
• Beauty products
• Watches and fine jewelry
• Keepsakes and collectibles

What do brands need to know about adding magnetic closure to rigid boxes? The truth is that many of the same principles for good design and implementation that apply with all packaging apply with magnetic boxes. Take a look at what makes magnets exceptional in the packaging world.

What Are Custom Magnetic Boxes?

The standard for custom magnetic boxes is that they are manufactured using strong, durable corrugated cardboard. Brands really need to focus on the initial phases of designing custom packaging because the quality of the cardboard used ultimately determines the integrity of the packaging. Both bleach corrugated and custom corrugated boxes can be used.

Corrugated cardboard boxes are built according to the dimensions specified by the brand. Extra design steps are needed because magnetic boxes famously require flip-top designs that allow the customer to reach inside to access the product. Next, the boxes are laminated with a specialized foil material. This step should not be skipped because the foil plays an important role in adding density to the box. This density creates resiliency to contrast the pressure caused by the flip-top design. Brands can also choose from a wide variety of special touches and finishes to increase both the visual appeal and endurance of their packaging. Popular options include:

• Foil stamping
• Gloss and spot UV coating
• Embossing/debossing
• Window patching
• Window cutouts
• Gloss, matte, or soft-touch lamination
• AQ coating
• Varnish
• Metallic, pearlescent, food-grade, or soft-touch coating

Why are all of these options so important? Magnetic boxes are used for a wide variety of different purposes. Having the ability to customize these boxes gives brands opportunities to create innate brand value at eye level. In fact, a beautifully done magnetic box is certain to become a keepsake that is inextricably linked with the product that it is housing in the mind of a customer. It’s hard to top a “repeat” marketing tool that’s a tangible memento.

The Benefits of Magnetic Boxes

Any brand manager can see the appeal of magnetic boxes. However, many still wonder if the “keepsake factor” justifies the extra time and money needed to create magnetic boxes. For many brands, the return on investment is more than worth the slightly higher investment in packaging. After all, magnetic boxes are essentially just trusted, proven corrugated boxes that have been dressed up.

Custom Magnetic Boxes Signal Premium Quality

A magnetic box is one of the easiest methods for separating a product from competing brands on the shelf. Customers can only assume that the product in the superior packaging is the premium option when presented with an entire category of products. This is precisely why luxury brands favor magnetic boxes.

A 2014 study looking at how packaging impacts customer perceptions of product value sheds some light on just how positive magnetic boxes can be for brands. In this study, researchers used water bottles of varying thicknesses to gauge how the thickness of a water bottle impacts a customer’s impression of water quality. It turns out that customers perceived the products with thicker bottles to be of higher quality. These perceptions didn’t just influence how customers felt about the water in the moment. They also had big implications regarding each customer’s intention to purchase the same water again in the future.

Custom Magnetic Boxes Create Buying Confidence Among Gift Shoppers

A big portion of in-store retail sales these days comes down to people who are shopping for others. When you’re marketing a product that has strong gift potential, packaging can make or break the giver’s confidence in the reaction your product is likely to make. Picture a scenario where someone who is shopping for a pair of earrings to give as a birthday gift walks into the jewelry aisle of a big-box store. They don’t have a huge budget to work with. However, they want to give a gift that comes across as thoughtful and valuable.

Most of the earrings for sale at the store are attached to ear cards. That means that the buyer will need to purchase a separate box to hold the earrings before checking out with the cashier unless they want to risk giving what feels like an incomplete gift. However, the buyer notices that one earring design that is within a few dollars of the price point of ear-card earrings is actually displayed in a gorgeous, classy box with magnetic closure. This looks like something you “present” to someone as a thoughtful, meaningful gift. While the earrings are a few dollars more than the other options, they aren’t in an entirely new price league. The buyer can also see the perk that they no longer need to purchase a separate gift box to hold the earrings before checking out at the store. While the boxed earrings hold the same value as the earrings fixed to ear cards, the perception that the buyer has of the boxed earrings is a world away from how they feel about giving someone earrings that aren’t packaged “for giving.”

Custom Magnetic Boxes Create Durability During Shipping

An alluring box doesn’t just help with brand perceptions in retail settings. A magnetic box can help packaging to maintain its shape and structure during shipping. Unfortunately, not all boxes are fit to survive shipping and handling. Brands that don’t take time to design packaging for today’s “Amazon-minded” customers, run the risk of presenting their online customers with damaged, unattractive packaging that greatly diminishes the highly anticipated unboxing experience. According to FedEx, merchants should take the unboxing experience seriously because a positive experience can help to reinforce branding, build loyalty, encourage social sharing of a product, expose customers to a product through social sharing, and increase perceived value.

Is a Custom Magnetic Box Worth It for Your Product?

The bottom line is that brands need to pay for packaging. Not choosing custom magnetic packaging doesn’t mean that packaging costs disappear. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that you will pay less if you don’t choose custom magnetic packaging. Many brands fall prey to the fallacy that only bulk packaging products can allow them to tame their packaging budgets. Bulk wholesalers often capitalize on this common misconception by advertising the fact that they offer the “most economical” options in town. The truth might be somewhere in the middle. That’s because choosing the wrong packaging can be costly.

Magnetic boxes are used to signify high-value products. When products show up in what can be described as “generic” packaging, there is an immediate loss of confidence that happens on a subconscious level in the minds of consumers. While a consumer may not necessarily “know” why they are suddenly wondering if a product is worth the asking cost, their minds will be using context clues to adopt the belief that the product isn’t actually a high-quality product. There’s little that brands can do as far as marketing dollars to “undo” that perception once it has happened.

What does it mean in a real-world scenario? In a situation where the product is being considered while it’s on the shelf at a retail location, this reduction in perceived value can skew the way a customer does a cost comparison between two products. Your product’s price point may now appear too high when your product is compared to a similar product with packaging that signals higher value. This can result in a lost sale.

Things play out slightly differently in a situation where an item has been shipped to home. Packaging that can be perceived as low-quality packaging already reduces expectations in the mind of the customer before the packaging has even been opened. That means that poor perceptions are being attached to your product before the customer is even able to interact with it. An underwhelming unboxing experience that doesn’t allow a customer to associate your brand with an exciting experience can greatly reduce the chances of a repeat purchase.

How can brands handle magnetic boxes the right way? It starts with custom package engineering to meet the aesthetic, practical, and brand-oriented goals you want to achieve. Get a free custom packaging quote from Mid-Atlantic Packaging today to bring a little magnesium to your packaging plan!