Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ecommerce and online shopping have been on the rise and is expected to grow by 18% by the end of 2020. As stores have been forced to close due to economic conditions and social distancing orders have been put into place, more consumers are making their purchases online. 

The pandemic has boosted addressing the need of online direct to consumer (DTC) distribution meaning businesses have had to re-examine their strategies to better reach their consumers through DTC channels. Over the next two years it is expected that 44% of consumers will do more grocery shopping online and 39% are expected to shop for more durables. This uptick in online shopping has created a demand for secure packaging that business can rely on to deliver to their consumers.

With the increase in online shopping, secure packaging is essential to ensure packages are delivered intact to the end user and prevent products from being damaged during transit. Package security is more critical than ever and a small element that drastically increases the level of security, is tape.  Yes, tape. Packaging Tape is increasing in demand to secure packages of any size while being shipped over the world. However, it is not just any roll of ordinary packaging tape that can be used.  The best tapes that are proven to work which manufacturers are turning to, are pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes.

PSA tapes are designed with an aggressive adhesive that is used to seal packages ensuring the bond maintains during transit and provide an optimal solution for light weight packages produced in low or high-volume operations. Tape manufacturers, like Duraco, headquartered in Chicago produce PSA tapes on continuous rolls for easier hand or automatic application, to efficiently secure packages.  Not only do these tapes provide a secure seal, they also help packaging manufacturers save time and money while improving their manufacturing processes.

Recently, Duraco collaborated with a customer by providing a cost-effective sealing tape that could faithfully perform during transit for a major brand’s DTC program.  A key component of the design was the need for a corrugated box with two strips of double-sided tape — one strip for shipment to consumer; second for return (if needed) to the seller.  Each strip of tape needed to be identified by a custom printed and color-coded release liner that helps identify which strip should should be used for the shipper sealing the box and for the consumer who may need to process a return. The requested features of the project were critical and what made this project complete to ensure customer satisfied, was the tape.

It is critical to understand the importance of paying attention to all the fine details when manufacturing the best packaging products for shipping consumer products. Although it is a small component of packaging, tape is a vital component of any package.