Amazon customers may start to notice that some of their orders are being delivered without extra packaging.
The online retail giant is moving forward with a relatively new business initiative that will see the company slowly do away with its signature packaging, a move the company claims will improve delivery times, reduce logistics costs, and lower its environmental impact, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Amazon’s delivery policy, commonly referred to as “Ships In Own Container” (SIOC), belongs to the second tier of the company’s frustration-free packaging (FFP) program, which involves shipping orders to customers in the product’s original packaging and without additional protection from Amazon-branded boxes.
The three-tiered FFP program was established in 2020 to help enhance, simplify, and improve packaging processes at Amazon facilities. The e-commerce giant currently delivers about 11% of all its packages via SIOC.
Amazon’s move to reduce packaging has already rolled out across the United States. Some customers have criticized the initiative, arguing that it creates privacy concerns for customers and leaves products more vulnerable in transit.
“The item was shipped with no packaging bag, no box, nothing,” said one Amazon customer in a Twitter post. “The manufacturer’s box doesn’t have anything holding it shut, and is not designed to have a shipping label slapped on it. Stop being such a cheap a– and _AT_LEAST_ put it in a bag.”
Other customers are also voicing displeasure with the absence of Amazon shipping boxes.
“Amazon didn’t put my vacuum in an Amazon box — I’m gonna be P—ED if someone steals my package by the time I get home,” another user posted.
Not all Amazon customers see SIOC as a drawback, though. Kenneth Levine, 76, said he receives products from Amazon every week.
“Sometimes you get a giant box with a very little item that, quite frankly, wasn’t breakable in the first place. And you wonder why they used all that material,” Levine said, per WSJ.
Despite mixed opinions from customers, some C-suit officials with Amazon believe the change represents the next frontier for the company.
“The recognition by a number of senior leaders was just that this is becoming more and more important,” said Patrick Lindner, vice president of packaging and innovation, product assurance, and risk and safety at Amazon, WSJ reported. “There’s a significant need for our company to take the next step in innovation around packaging.”
Fragile products like vinyl records and wine glasses are reportedly still being shipped in the company’s branded brown boxes.