Packaging gives etailers a chance to make a final impression on customers

[mandy]

Retailing is as much about theater as it is about merchandise... Online retailers didn’t take long to apply that approach to their web sites. E-retailers continually refine their sites, updating the look and navigation and adding features and functions that will appeal to their customers.

But there is one area that many retailers overlook—the final impression. Not that retailers have not understood that the final impression is important. But their focus has been on delivery, by under-promising and over-delivering—you’re told your package will arrive in four days and it gets there in two.

That’s OK as a first step, but in this competitive market, smart retailers will take it a step farther with excellent product presentation. That many online retailers are not paying attention to their packaging struck me when I received an item that I was planning to give as a gift...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=24247

[regic]

many online retailers are not paying attention to their packaging

I've never received a package and thought "what wonderful packaging".  The store can pack it in anything they want as long as it gets to me in one piece.