If you sell into retail and you haven’t heard about retail-ready packaging (RRP) yet, you will soon.

With RRP, you ship your products in custom packaging that’s designed to be put directly on retail shelves and floors. It’s been a dominant packaging strategy in European retailers for years. And now American companies like Walmart are pushing it forward in the US.

The reason is simple. It saves retailers money.

Because instead of having to remove your products one by one and place them on store shelves, retail workers can just open a box, put the whole thing on the shelf, and it’s ready to go.

But RRP can be great for manufacturers and distributors, too. It gives you more control of how your products and your brand are displayed directly to consumers in the retail space.

Here’s how to use custom, retail-ready packaging to improve your business.

Stay Ahead of the Retail Game

The retail business is all about dollars per square foot. 

Which is why RRP had already swept through European retailers. Since it reduces the labor cost to stock each item, it effectively increases a retailer’s net revenue on every product that adopts it.

Even though American retailers were a little late to the RRP game, now it’s becoming standard practice. 

So manufacturers and distributors that don’t offer RRP are losing out to those who do.

Even if your retail clients aren’t demanding RRP yet, switching your packaging to a retail-ready format puts you ahead of the game. And since you’ll be saving them time and money, effectively boosting their dollar per square foot bottom line, you’ll be in a strong position to get preferential treatment in their stores for years to come.

Communicate Directly with Consumers

Since your RRP goes directly onto retail floors and shelves, it gives you an extra canvas to speak to consumers.

Smart brands are using their RRP in conjunction with their primary packaging to tell a more complete story and build deeper relationships with consumers. It’s an opportunity to build brand awareness, highlight your product benefits, and support marketing campaigns.

As RRP becomes more dominant in American retailers, brands that don’t make the switch will lose not just shelf space, they’ll lose visibility in the space they do have, too.

Make the Switch to Retail-Ready Packaging

Your retail relationships are some of the most important in your business.

Switching to RRP shows them you’re serious about building a lasting and profitable partnership. And it gives your brand a new platform to develop a deeper connection with consumers inside retail stores.

It’s a win-win.

If you’re ready to reap the benefits of retail-ready packaging for your business, use this form to get in touch today and we’ll help you design the perfect solution.