Black Friday and year-end shipping coming soon? Use Water Activated Tape and stay safe
The countdown has begun. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, January sales. For the production department and e-commerce, these are the busiest 90 days of the year: requests tripling, couriers under pressure, warehouses working 24 hours a day.
With this situation, the number one problem of this period is also growing: damaged, opened, tampered packages or returned for “ruined box”.
If you’re still shipping with classic plastic adhesive tape (BOPP), you’re taking a risk. It’s time to switch to Water Activated Tape (WAT), the rubberized kraft paper tape that is water-activated.
Why is traditional tape no longer enough at the end of the year?
During the peak at the end of the year, packages go further, change more hands, are stacked, launched, stored in crowded hubs.
The plastic tape:
- It comes off with cold and humidity.
In December, the vans are cold, the warehouses are damp. The adhesive loses its grip.
- It is easy to tamper with.
It is cut, detached and closed with another piece of tape without leaving a trace. In high season, thefts and “disappearances” increase by 30%.
- Requires multiple strips.
To feel safe, operators put 2-3 layers in the shape of an H. You waste time, material and give an unprofessional image.
- It’s plastic that makes you look “cheap”.
Your customers, increasingly attentive, notice it. An all-plastic package is a minus point for your brand.
What is Water Activated Tape and why is it the solution
WAT, also known as gummed tape or water-activated kraft tape, is made of reinforced kraft paper and starch-based glue. It’s activated with water and, once applied, literally melts into the cardboard.
It’s not a tape that sits on top of the box, it’s a tape that becomes part of the box.
Among the many, here are the 4 most important advantages that WAT ensures:
- 100% BURGLARY SECURITY
It’s its superpower. Once dry, WAT can’t be removed without tearing and destroying the cardboard. Any attempt at fraudulent opening leaves a very obvious mark. The courier sees it, the customer sees it, you are protected from disputes and refunds for theft. With a single strip, you close the box like a safe.
- A SINGLE STRIP IS ENOUGH AND ADVANCES
Thanks to its total adhesion over the entire surface, there is no need for H-closures. A single central strip seals the package definitively. The result: you close packages faster (up to 25% less time in the warehouse), consume less tape and your packaging is shock- and drop-proof.
- WITHSTANDS EVERYTHING: COLD, HUMIDITY, WEIGHT
Water-based glue is not afraid of temperature changes in vans in December or the humidity of warehouses. In fact, the more difficult the conditions, the more it holds. Perfect for heavy, bulky packages and for multiple returns in January.
- SUSTAINABLE AND BRANDABLE: YOUR PACKAGE DOES MARKETING
It is 100% recyclable and compostable paper, it can be disposed of together with the box without having to detach anything. For your customers it is a huge value.
And what’s more, you can customize it. White or Havana tape with your logo, your claim “Black Friday”, “Fragile”, “Thank you for your order”. The package arrives intact and already communicates your brand, without the need for additional costs. And if you want to give a premium unboxing experience, close your packaging with personalized WAT via Smart QR-Code. With this solution, every package that comes out of the end of the line becomes inviolable, sustainable, informative and advertising.
Receiving a perfect box, with WAT tape that looks like part of the box, with an elegant QR-Code to scan full of information, generates 3 important considerations in less than a second:
- This is a serious brand: because I see that every detail has been thought out.
- No one has opened this package: I can trust it.
- This brand has really thought about it: I want to buy from them again.
For the application of the tape, you can equip yourself with a simple countertop dispenser, manual or electric: it is a small investment that pays for itself in a week of work.
Train your team: 5 minutes of training is enough. Dampen, spread, press and send. Done!!
Among the various availability, choose the type of reinforced tape if you ship heavy, for boxes over 15 kg, use the fiberglass reinforced version.
With WAT you’re not using a simple roll of tape, you’re buying warehouse security, free cross-marketing, automatic customer support, and a sustainable business card that will never end up in the trash.
The package is the only time your brand physically enters the customer’s home and cannot enter it like any other package!!
Try Water Activated Tape now. Close securely, ship with peace of mind and keep customers happy.