The shift to contactless shopping is well underway. Although the pandemic has helped to accelerate this shift, one could argue contactless shopping has been with us ever since Books.com allowed people to buy books online with credit cards back in 1992, three years before the launch of Amazon.

Even in stores, the number of self-checkout kiosks are starting to catch up to traditional checkout stations staffed by humans. Many modern, sophisticated retail stores have done away with cash registers completely, using everything from sensors and scanners to invisible barcodes and digital watermarking technology to automatically recognize a product and process payment.

Think of it as EZ Pass in a retail setting.

While most of the conversation has focused on technology that enables automated, contactless checkout, many retailers and brands are overlooking the opportunities in packaging design.

The early trend was to simply make barcodes bigger so they would be easier for scanners to detect. This can actually have a negative impact on packaging design.

However, newer technology eliminates visible barcodes or UPCs from packaging so you can focus on grabbing the attention of shoppers rather than checkout functionality. This gives you more real estate and creative freedom to add or enlarge logos, graphics, and imaging.

Rigid, plastic containers with in-mold labeling (IML) make it possible to use rich, vibrant colors and digital printing to stand out on the shelf and personalize the packaging. Consumers also love that these plastic containers are resealable, reusable, and recyclable.

Contactless shopping isn’t new but it’s definitely becoming more prevalent. Think about how this can affect your packaging design choices and consider a refresh that will wow your customers!

We’re ready to help!

If you’d like to learn more about new design capabilities related to the contactless shopping experience, contact us today to schedule a consultation. We look forward to helping you and will get back to you promptly.