6 Customer Unboxing Experience Tips & Examples
Unboxing experiences have become a crucial aspect of customer satisfaction in today’s market. This article presents expert-backed tips and examples to enhance your brand’s unboxing strategy. From personalization and leveraging creators to adding symbolic meaning and surprising collectors, these insights will help transform your packaging into a memorable journey for customers.
- Personalize Unboxing with Emotional Brand Story
- Leverage Creators for Multi-Platform Reveal Experience
- Add Symbolic Meaning to Boost Social Shares
- Design Cultural Journey in Every Package
- Include Empowering Notes and Thoughtful Touches
- Surprise Collectors with Bonus Items
Personalize Unboxing with Emotional Brand Story
As the founder of Bully Beds, I’ve found that including a personalized note with a photo of Bull, our company’s namesake, creates an instant emotional connection during unboxing. This simple addition helps customers understand our mission isn’t just commercial—it’s deeply personal and rooted in providing the best for dogs like my beloved Bull.
We also include a quick-start guide that shows customers how to properly set up their orthopedic bed and explains the therapeutic benefits of our CertiPUR-US certified foam. This educational component transforms the unboxing from just receiving a product to starting a journey toward better health for their dog.
The most effective element we’ve implemented is our “Paw of Approval” packaging seal that customers break when opening. It’s a small touch, but it creates a ritual moment that customers frequently photograph and share on social media, often with their dogs “helping” to open their new bed.
Our data shows that customers who engage with these unboxing elements are significantly more likely to leave positive reviews mentioning the “experience” rather than just the product features. The key is making customers feel they’re joining a community of people who treat their dogs as family members deserving of the absolute best—not just buying another pet product.
Joe Chanda
Owner, Bully Beds
Leverage Creators for Multi-Platform Reveal Experience
As Open Influence’s marketing leader, I’ve seen how creator involvement transforms unboxing experiences into shareable moments. My top tip: make your unboxing personal through authentic storytelling that connects emotionally with customers.
For our Subaru Forester campaign at the LA Auto Show, we leveraged creators to build anticipation before the showing, then created a multi-platform reveal experience. The creators shared personal stories about their first car experiences, making the brand’s values tangible. This approach increased engagement by turning a product reveal into a shared emotional journey.
What made this effective was the strategic use of different content formats across platforms. We used teaser content to build excitement, followed by livestream reveals and platform-specific content that encouraged sharing. The storytelling element was crucial—people share experiences that make them feel something.
The key lesson: don’t just showcase your product; create a narrative around it that invites customers to see themselves in the story. When someone feels personally connected to your brand through a creator they trust, they’re much more likely to share that experience with their own community.
Maria A. Rodriguez
VP, Comms and Marketing, Open Influence
Add Symbolic Meaning to Boost Social Shares
As the founder who scaled CustomCuff from acquisition to multi-million dollar revenue, I’ve found that the unboxing experience is critical for DTC jewelry brands – it drives word-of-mouth and repeat purchases.
Our most successful implementation was our eco-friendly gift boxes ($16 value), which we initially offered as a limited-time promotion but made permanent after seeing a 31% increase in social media shares. We noticed customers were specifically photographing the unboxing process alongside their personalized jewelry.
The game-changer was including a personalized note explaining the symbolism behind their custom piece – whether it was coordinates of their special place or handwriting jewelry. For example, when someone orders a star map necklace of their wedding night, we include details about the exact constellations visible at that moment.
Data showed that orders with these personalized meaning cards were 2.8x more likely to be shared on Instagram and tagged with our brand. This approach works because it transforms the product from just jewelry into a meaningful keepsake with a story worth sharing.
Suchi Jain Saxena
Founder, CustomCuff
Design Cultural Journey in Every Package
One tip for creating a memorable and shareable unboxing experience is to turn it into a story — something that speaks to both emotion and aesthetics.
At Karaca, we believe every package should feel like a gift, not just a delivery. That’s why we meticulously design our unboxing journey to reflect our Turkish heritage and modern elegance. From embossed gold accents on our packaging to personalized thank-you cards, we aim to surprise and delight. A great example was the launch of our Fine Pearl Collection.
We wrapped each set in luxurious, eco-friendly material, accompanied by a storybook explaining the artistry behind the world’s only dinnerware made with real pearl. Customers didn’t just open a box — they opened a piece of cultural craftsmanship.
Thousands shared their experience online, turning their dining tables into mini showrooms and our brand into a dinner conversation.
Cihangir Cetintirnak
Managing Director, Karaca
Include Empowering Notes and Thoughtful Touches
At KUSHAE, I started including handwritten thank-you notes with empowering health affirmations in our intimate wellness packages, which really resonated with our customers who shared their unboxing moments on social media. Generally speaking, I’ve found that adding small, thoughtful touches like lavender-scented tissue paper and a mini care guide helps create a spa-like experience that makes women feel valued and understood.
Kimba Williams
CEO & Co-Founder, KUSHAE
Surprise Collectors with Bonus Items
Lean into what excites your customer base. If the majority of your customers are collectors or hobbyists who love sharing unboxing videos on social media, adding small bonus items with the product can make the experience feel extra special. It would feel as though they’ve unlocked another rare item that makes the even rarer item they just bought more special. In addition, these unexpected extras will also encourage others to try buying from you with the hopes of getting a freebie as well. This helps build word-of-mouth and brand loyalty. It is a small investment that will consistently pay off for you in the form of customer engagement and repeat business.
Brandon Hartman
Founder, Entrepreneur, BeyWarehouse