As ecommerce and DTC brands fight to make every doorstep delivery work harder, packaging has become the new shopfront; the first physical touchpoint a customer has with a brand.

For many retailers, that’s meant bolder boxes, slicker unboxing moments and packaging designed to be shared. Whether it is the famous Tiffany Blue – which is copyrighted – or Hermès Orange, heritage brands have used their packaging as walking advertisements for years.

Ecommerce pure-plays often want their packaging to work as doorstep advertising. Take, Gousto or Virgin Wines’ bright red subscription boxes.

But for categories where discretion matters, the best delivery experience may be the one that says nothing at all.

In a recent interview with Retail Gazette, Katie Hanlon, global category lead – pharmacy, health & beauty, at Just Eat Takeaway.com revealed that the quick commerce platform had delivered 91,000 pregnancy tests in the past 12 months alone.

“We are talking about products for which discretion matters” she noted. “Some products come with requirements that food simply doesn’t have.”

Across the health and wellbeing retail sector there will be a range of products where such responsibility is needed.

James Rose, director of UK, Ireland and North America at Lovehoney, explains: “We know that discretion has historically been one of the key considerations people have when buying sex toys, and this was the philosophy that Lovehoney was built upon.

“First and foremost, all Lovehoney products are packaged and delivered from our warehouses in plain, brown boxes, to ensure discretion at all stages of the customer journey. Our brand name does not appear on the outside of the box, so even if the parcel is handled by others discretion is ensured.

“In addition, the products themselves are covered and wrapped in protective plain brown paper, so in the unlikely event the box is opened, the products are still protected from view.”   

Lingerie retailer Ann Summers also ships in “plain, durable packaging designed to keep the contents secure and discreet”. There is no Ann Summers branding, logos or product information on the outside of the parcel.

Ann Summers also enables customers to have their ecommerce order delivered to an Evri Locker for “additional flexibility and convenience”.  It also offers Click & Collect to Ann Summers stores across the UK.

This flexible, and discreet, delivery network will be expanded later this year. Additional collection and drop-off options through partners including Royal Mail, Amazon Shipping and InPost will be introduced. This will give customers access to more than 30,000 collection points across the UK and Ireland.

“Because every Ann Summers order is delivered discreetly as standard, customers don’t need to opt into a separate discreet delivery service. Instead, we focus on providing customers with flexible delivery choices while ensuring every order is packaged discreetly,” a spokesperson for the brand stresses.

To brand, or not to brand

Macfarlane Packaging’s 2025 Unboxing Survey highlights a clear split in ecommerce packaging strategies: over half of retailers now brand their packaging, with 53 per cent including a logo or other printed features. For many brands, the appeal is clear.

Branded packaging turns a routine delivery into a marketing touchpoint, reinforcing identity at the moment a customer receives their order. It can also make the experience feel more premium, distinctive and memorable, which matters in crowded online markets where retailers have fewer physical opportunities to connect with shoppers.

The same study suggests this can influence repeat purchasing, 41 per cent of consumers said designed packaging encourages future orders in some categories. That helps explain why retailers in sectors such as beauty, fashion, gifting or premium goods may invest more heavily in branded materials, where presentation is part of the product experience and loyalty is commercially valuable.

However, plain packaging isn’t simply about discretion. It can be an operational efficiency choice. Retailers may choose it to reduce costs and support sustainability goals, as well as avoiding drawing attention to high-value or sensitive purchases during delivery.

The choice therefore depends less on whether branding is “better” and more on what the retailer needs the parcel to achieve: visibility and emotional connection, or efficiency, discretion and restraint.

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