Short answer: a packaging insert is a card, leaflet or sample you put in the parcel alongside the order. The inserts that earn their print cost do one job each, ask for one action, and carry a QR code that opens the next step directly: a checkout with the product already in the cart, not your homepage.
This guide is about marketing inserts. If you are looking for foam or cardboard inserts that hold a product in place inside the box, that is a packaging supplier’s job and not covered here.
Why inserts are worth the effort
Every order you ship is opened by a customer who has just paid you and is holding your product. There is no ad auction, no inbox to compete in and no algorithm. An insert costs a few cents and is seen by everyone who orders.
What wastes that moment is an insert that says “thanks, follow us” with a code that leads to the homepage. The customer has to work out what to do next, and most will not.
12 packaging insert ideas
Bring them back
- The reorder card. “Running low? Scan to order this again.” The code opens a checkout with the same product in the cart. This is the insert to start with for anything consumable.
- The refill reminder with a date. Print roughly when the product will run out (“about six weeks from now”) next to the reorder code, so the card gets kept.
- The next-product card. Introduce the one product that goes with what they bought. One product, one code, one price.
- The subscription offer. For customers who bought once, a card that puts the subscription version in the cart with a first-box gift.
Reward them
- The free gift on the next order. “Your next order comes with this, free.” The code opens a checkout where the gift is added once the cart qualifies. A gift costs you less than the same value in discount and does not lower the price they expect.
- The thank-you with a private offer. A short note and an offer that exists only on the card, not on your site. It reads as a reward because nobody else can find it.
- The sample with a path to full size. A sachet or mini, with a code that puts the full-size product in the cart.
Use them to grow
- The give-one card. A second card to hand to a friend, with its own code and its own offer for a first order.
- The review ask. One line, one code that goes straight to the review form for that product. Send it with a product people have had time to use, such as a reorder.
- The share prompt. Ask for a photo and tell them where to tag you. Works best when the unboxing is worth photographing.
Help them use it
- The how-to card. Three steps to get the best result from the product. Fewer returns, better reviews, and a reason to keep the card.
- The care or sizing card with an exchange path. For clothing and anything fitted: how to care for it, and a code that starts an exchange if the size is wrong.
What makes an insert work
- One job per card. A reorder card that also asks for a review and a follow gets none of them.
- Say what the scan does. “Scan to reorder” beats a bare code. People scan when they know what they will get.
- Print the offer in words. “Free shipping on your next order” on the card, then the code.
- Size the code properly. At least 2 cm across on a card held in the hand, with clear space around it, dark on light.
- Test it before the print run. Scan the proof with two phones. Check what opens.
Where the QR code should lead
A code that opens your homepage hands the customer a shopping trip. A code that opens a checkout with the product already in the cart asks only for payment.
On Shopify you can build that link by hand as a cart permalink, or with our free checkout link generator, which also gives you the QR code to download. That covers a fixed product and a discount code.
For the ideas above that need more, Checkout Links, a Shopify app we make, puts these on the link itself:
- A free gift or discount with no code printed on the card for others to copy.
- A link you can change after printing. The printed code points at a short link, and you can change what that link opens. Useful when a product is discontinued after the cards are in the warehouse.
- An end date or a limit on uses, so an old card stops working when the offer does.
- Numbers per link: clicks, orders and revenue, so each insert shows what it earned.
- Scanning at the till. Staff can scan the same code in Shopify POS to apply the offer in store.
The Shopify QR code playbook goes deeper on code design and placement, and the reorder links playbook covers the reorder card’s link.
Tracking which insert earned its keep
Give each insert its own link. The reorder card, the gift card and the give-one card should never share a code, or you cannot tell them apart. If you change the offer between print runs, give the new run a new link too.
Then judge each one on orders against cost: the cards printed, the gifts given, and the discount. An insert that brings a second order from even a small share of customers usually pays for the print many times over, but check it with your own numbers before reprinting.
Frequently asked questions
What is a packaging insert?
A card, leaflet, sample or small gift placed in a parcel with the customer’s order. Marketing inserts aim at a next step such as a reorder or a review. Protective inserts are the foam or cardboard that holds the product in place.
What should a packaging insert say?
One thing. Name the action and what the customer gets: “Scan to reorder with free shipping.” Add your brand and nothing that competes with that line.
Should I put a QR code on a packaging insert?
Yes, if it opens something specific. A code that leads to a checkout with the product in the cart, or straight to a review form, saves the customer the steps where most people stop.
How much do packaging inserts cost?
A printed card costs a few cents at volume; the larger cost is whatever you offer on it. Count both when you work out whether an insert paid off.
