Apple’s Product “Unboxing” Experience, Detailed

In an article entitled “The Experience Of Opening An Apple Product,” Anthony Kay has this week delved deep into the experience behind Apple’s product packaging and how it ultimately makes the user feel upon opening a product contained within it.

We already know that Apple takes unboxing seriously — This was confirmed with Adam Lashinsky’s profiling of the company back in January of this year. In his book ‘Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired — and Secretive — Company Really Works,’ the Fortune columnist noted that the firm has a ‘whole room’ within its Cupertino headquarters inside which it is thought Apple executives dedicate their time to testing out all the different packaging possibilities for the company’s many products.

The trouble is, not many companies out there have grasped the fact that most people would rather buy into an ‘experience’ than a physical product. Noting that most of Apple’s current competitors “don’t seem to give much thought to how they package their products or the experience of opening them,” Kay highlights that with Apple, things are completely different. They “actually give a great deal of thought to the design of the box itself,” he notes.

He continued:

“They think about what it looks like on the shelf, how it presents the contents to the purchaser, and what the experience will be like when you open it.”

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“I still remember when I opened the iPod box for the first time. I was struck by how nicely it was presented. It wasn’t just wrapped in a plastic bag with a piece of tape holding it closed. There was no sea of twist ties securing the cables. Instead, it was almost as though it was a piece of art being presented for your inspection. It was obvious that somebody had given a great deal of thought to the very act of opening the box itself, seeing the product within, and how that reflected upon Apple.”

Kay is right. While it is sometimes debatable Apple’s products meet up with competitors which take advantage of more “open” options to provide customers with what they are ultimately looking for, there’s absolutely no getting away from the fact that Apple is the only company that can package its products in a way which not only makes the customer feel special, but also creates that all-important, “emotional” bond with its clever use of simplicity, repetitive marketing and pristine imagery depicting the products contained within.

It’s a packaging technique which no other company is yet to match – and it works. Flawlessly.