Are you a private purchaser or a bold buyer? This fun game tests how willing you are to have online orders delivered – without additional packaging.
Receiving parcels unboxed, with only an address label attached, uses less resources – but are you proud enough of your purchases to let your neighbours see what’s being delivered?
As items from pet food and tennis rackets, to underwear and condoms, move along the conveyer belt, simply swipe left or right to signal what you would and wouldn't want additional packaging for.
At the end of the game, you'll know if you are more of a private purchaser, preferring to cover up your online orders – or a bold buyer, who doesn’t need their items to be concealed.
The game comes as a study of 2,000 online shoppers found six in ten adults would be happy for their online deliveries to arrive without added delivery packaging, if it means reducing their environmental impact.
The research reveals items people would be happy to arrive packaging-free – with just a postage label applied – include pet products, sports equipment, gardening items, and clothing.
But condoms, haemorrhoid cream, and sanitary items are among the items people would be less happy to have delivered bare.
The research was commissioned by Amazon, whose director of packaging innovation, Justine Mahler, said: “People really care about reducing packaging, and we’ve made significant progress doing so for years.
“But we want to eliminate packaging altogether, working with manufacturers to design packaging that’s capable of shipping safely, without additional paper bags, envelopes, or boxes.
“We’ve already achieved a lot, increasing the number of orders shipped to customers with no added delivery packaging in the UK by more than 50% since 2021.
“Sending an item without additional packaging reduces packaging weight and carbon emissions, so it’s a win all-round.”
The study also found 56% of adults consider it important that packaging they do receive is recyclable with the rest of their household waste – and 76% believe many products they buy don’t need additional packaging in the first place.
More than a third (38%) of those surveyed said packaging reduction should be the first priority for retailers and manufacturers – over making packaging recyclable (36%) or reusable (17%).
However, 62% of online shoppers worry about their deliveries being damaged if they arrive with no added delivery packaging.
Concealing orders to prevent embarrassment is low on the list of priorities for online shoppers – with an unashamed 76% declaring they have never been embarrassed by the contents of a package they’ve received.
And 87% trust their neighbours to take care of their deliveries if they are not there to receive them.
For nearly four in ten (39%) of those surveyed, their main concern was concealing a gift if they buy an item for a household member.
Justine Mahler added: “We don’t want to ruin that surprise. For that reason, many items that are certified to ship without additional packaging, still come with an option to be sent in a box or paper delivery bag.
“We also conduct rigorous drop tests to ensure items sent without added delivery packaging have the potential to reach people safely.
“High value items like laptops, as well as many personal orders you’d keep in your bathroom cabinet, also come with added delivery packaging.”
