Now in its tenth year, the Macfarlane Packaging Unboxing Survey offers a valuable snapshot of how consumers experience ecommerce packaging. With rising customer expectations, increasing sustainability pressures and tighter regulations, packaging has never mattered more.
Our 2025 findings show that while retailers have made significant strides to improve their packaging in the past decade, there is still room for improvement as internet shoppers become even more demanding. In this blog, we’ll unpack key highlights from the survey…
The 2025 Unboxing Survey
For the past decade, Macfarlane’s Unboxing Survey has canvassed the opinions of consumers about the transit packaging used by internet retailers, and 2025’s survey was no different. Taking place over 6 weeks during Summer 2025, it aimed to assess how consumers rated the overall unboxing experience, as well as key factors like sustainability, accessibility and branding.
- The “Big Four” sectors consistently dominated responses – by and large consumers reviewed packaging being used by retailers in four key sectors. Health & Beauty, Fashion, Home & Garden, and Food & Drink.
For the first time, Health & Beauty has overtaken Fashion as the most reported online shopping category. This mirrors wider market trends, with the IMRG Online Retail Index highlighting Health & Beauty as a strong performer, outpacing the market average.
- Home delivery still reigns supreme – an overwhelming 95% of consumers reported receiving parcels via home delivery, with click & collect and delivery lockers accounting for just 5%. While click & collect had seen growth in previous years, this has softened in 2025, highlighting that consumers still prefer the convenience, particularly when purchasing direct from online retailers.
So, what’s changed in the last 10 years?
A Decade of Change in eCommerce Packaging
Comparing 2025 results with the original 2016 survey highlights just how far ecommerce packaging has come:
- Overpacking is down – only 11% of consumers now report excess packaging, compared to 41% when the survey began
- Paper-based materials & easy-to-recycle packaging is on the rise – once evenly split with plastic, paper is becoming the dominant. Plus, over ¾ respondents report their packaging is now recyclable, up on 50% a decade ago
- Damages are down – just3% of online shoppers reported parcels arriving with damaged goods, down from 10% when the survey kicked off
- More branded packaging – 53% of parcels now arrive with branding, compared to 39% in 2016
These improvements reflect continual efforts by online retailers to optimise pack design. As consumers have become more eco-conscious, waste reduction and recycling have become more prevalent, all while increasing numbers of retailers leverage transit packaging as a branding tool.
What Makes a Great Unboxing Experience?
Positively, 80% of consumers reported they are satisfied or very satisfied with their unboxing experience.
Highly rated parcels shared several common traits, including:
- Effectively protecting products
- Right-sized packaging / no excess material use
- Easy opening features (like tear strips)
- Recyclable or reusable materials
- Thoughtful presentation and branding
Consumers have an eye for small details, expressing delight at features like tag lines, easy-open tear strips, printed tissue paper and reusable boxes.
In contrast, dissatisfaction was often driven by poor protection or using too much packing material. In fact, nearly 60% of unhappy consumers cited oversizing as a key frustration…
Sustainability Expectations Are Higher Than Ever
Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have”. 10 years on from our first survey, sustainability it is firmly expected as standard. 70% of consumers expect sustainable packaging by default!
Over a fifth say they would not place a repeat order if packaging is viewed as non-sustainable. Plus, a whopping 84% would be willing to return packaging for retailers to reuse.
However, there is still work to do. Over half of consumers reported that their packaging did not include clear recycling labelling!
What the 2025 Unboxing Survey Means for Internet Retailers
The 2025 Unboxing Survey confirms that eCommerce packaging has improved significantly over the past decade. Yet consumer expectations continue to rise and packaging optimisation will be more important than ever in the face of these expectations and market headwinds internet retailers are facing.
Online retailers that invest in thoughtful packaging design will be best placed to meet regulatory demands, control costs and build lasting customer loyalty in 2026 and beyond.
To unpack the full insights of Macfarlane’s 10th annual Unboxing Survey, download the complete report here
