The beauty brand NARS scores an unremarkable 3.5 out of 10 under Undigital’s Unboxing Guidelines. Though its orders are shipped in a sleek black box (a nice change from the bland brown cardboard used by many brands), the unboxing experience quickly takes a turn for the bland once the interior paper covering is opened, uncovering a complete lack of packaging and personalization.
As such, NARS’ unboxing experience needs a complete overhaul if the brand wants to successfully engage modern consumers.
NARS packaging was reviewed against the UnDigital Unboxing Experience Guidelines for Brands, an unweighted system based on research carried out across millions of direct-to-consumer (DTC) packages. It is a ten-point scale that includes two categories: Personalization and Presentation, both of which are then divided into five sub-categories, detailed below, worth up to a point each (0 or 1 in each Personalization subcategory, and 0, 0.5, or 1 point in each Presentation subcategory).
NARS’ performance is as follows:
NARS didn’t include the buyer’s name anywhere, an oversight that represents the first of several missed opportunities. Personalized marketing material, like a postcard or thank-you note, goes a long way in making a customer feel valued while delivering useful content.
When evaluating your own brand’s unboxing process, make sure you add the customer’s name somewhere highly visible beside the shipping label. A multipurpose marketing asset, like a postcard with product information, the customer’s name, and a QR code with return information, is the most pragmatic way to check off multiple personalization boxes.
NARS earned this point because the product packaging itself is branded and provides some basic product info, but it still leaves a lot of room for improvement.
Ideally, you should include a tip about using the supplied product, some info about its ingredients, or any other valuable information inside the box. Great product information should help your customers get excited about using your product and/or achieve success quickly.
NARS does tailor its unboxing experience to the order, providing a few relevant samples that are in the same category as your product. During checkout, NARS even allows you to hand-pick which samples you receive.
Your brand could improve upon NARS’ approach by adding the customer’s name to the collateral or delivering an order-specific insert with part of your brand story. While the samples are a nice touch, they shouldn’t be a substitute for other, greater personalization efforts.
NARS didn’t include any sort of call-to-action (CTA) as part of their unboxing experience. Something as simple as asking the buyer to sign up for their newsletter or providing a coupon code for their next order would do wonders for engagement.
When a customer receives a package, they are, naturally, going to be excited. Including a CTA in your unboxing marketing strategy capitalizes on that excitement and increases the chances that they will re-engage with your brand in the very near future. On the other hand, failing to include a CTA is akin to leaving money on the table.
Researching NARS will quickly show that they have an intriguing history and dynamic line of beauty products, but consumers wouldn’t learn anything about NARS’ mission, values, or history from the brand’s packaging, as none of their stories are included in the unboxing experience.
While you don’t have to include the entire About section of your website in your DTC packaging, you should deliver a few impactful sentences of copy to connect with your audience. Providing a glimpse into your brand and its values helps build a sense of loyalty and establish trust.
As mentioned, NARS delivers its products in a sleek black box. Similarly, the interior of the box has a unique black paper covering that encloses the order. The products themselves are also heavily branded.
Altogether, these facets help NARS earn 0.5 a point in this particular category, but the brand could (and should) have taken things a step further by including its name or logo throughout the interior of the packaging. They could have also elevated the experience by adding some branded packing paper.
NARS' packaging arrived intact, and the box was free of scuffs or visible imperfections. The products appeared to be in pristine condition.
Ideally, brands should use a box that closely aligns with the size of the products being shipped and (when absolutely necessary) use a modest amount of packaging paper to protect the package.
NARS demonstrates poor space utilization. Packing paper may not be necessary because the items can't be easily broken, but the box is absolutely enormous based on what they placed inside. An envelope would have sufficed for these things. In fact, an envelope with a package insert would have been infinitely less wasteful and would have generated a much higher ROI at a much lower cost.
Leading DTC brands include a link or QR code to their return policy. The most customer-centric approach is to include a pre-printed return label at the bottom of the box.
NARS did not provide any return information inside the box. We would highly recommend providing a link or return shipping label to your customers so that you can minimize friction during the returns process.
At UnDigital, we end every unboxing review by asking ourselves a simple question: Would this unboxing process delight customers? In the case of NARS, the answer is, unfortunately, a resounding “No!”
The unboxing experience was not necessarily bad, but it lacked personalization and was not at all engaging. Other than the sleek black packaging, the NARS experience is nothing more than a run-of-the-mill unboxing process.
At UnDigital, our goal is to help DTC brands engage, captivate, and wow consumers with personalized, dynamic unboxing experiences. Brands like NARS can capitalize on missed opportunities by prioritizing personalization and presentation. Check out our unboxing guidelines to learn more about how your unboxing marketing strategy compares to top brands.
