Last Updated on August 29, 2025 by Packoi Team
Retail is competitive. Hundreds of products fight for customer attention on every shelf. Display boxes separate your brand from the noise. They highlight new items, promote seasonal campaigns, and give older products a fresh spotlight.
Used correctly, they make shoppers stop, notice, and interact with your brand. This article explains what display boxes are, why they matter, their types, benefits, and the five rules that make them effective. By the end, you’ll know how to design display boxes that turn browsers into buyers.
What Is a Display Box?
A display box is a form of retail packaging that goes beyond protection. Unlike ordinary packaging, its main job is visibility. Display boxes are placed in strategic retail areas, such as checkout counters, entrances, or aisle ends.
They work by separating your product from competing items. This separation sparks curiosity among customers, drawing them closer. Once they notice, the likelihood of purchase rises significantly.
In short, a display box acts as a silent salesperson in the store. It speaks through its design, placement, and message, encouraging customers to engage with your product.
3 Main Types of Display Boxes
Display boxes come in many styles, but three dominate retail spaces. Each type serves a unique role.
1. Cardboard Display Boxes
If you’re looking for versatility in terms of the display box design, this is the right option for you. Cardboard display boxes are the most versatile. They can be made in almost any shape or style. Since they use paperboard materials, the surface is easy to print on, which means you can add bold graphics, patterns, or promotional messages.
Key benefits:
- Low cost, making them ideal for short-term promotions.
- Eco-friendly when made from sustainable paper and inks.
- Flexible design options.
- Easy to recycle and dispose of.
Best use: Promoting seasonal products, discounts, or campaigns.
2. Counter Display Boxes
Regarding positioning, counter display boxes are the best option to promote your products. As the name suggests, a counter display box sits on the checkout counters of retail stores. It’s sometimes called the POP (point of purchase) display.
The idea is to entice customers to buy something else before they pay, like a last attempt to sell your product.
While counter display boxes are commonly placed near cash registers, they could also be placed in any high-traffic area of a store.
Make these boxes eye-catching and convincing. You only have a few seconds to win over the customer as they wait in line or for their change. Make every design element count, so they’ll decide to add your product to their purchase.
3. Floor Display Boxes
Unlike the counter display box, these are floor displays. They could be near the cash register or the door. These could even be positioned at the end of aisles, right where the customer turns to the next one.
These are great for huge stores or even trade shows. Since the box is big, it’s highly visible. It’s a great display box for new items you want to promote.
When you’re designing these display boxes, make sure you consider the floor space that they’ll occupy. You want to ensure that these boxes are eye-catching, but they should be so big that they’re already an obstruction.
The retail store won’t put it in high-traffic areas if it could make someone trip.
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3 Important Benefits of Using Display Boxes
If you believe display boxes are unnecessary because you already have product packaging, think again.
Product packaging is great for protecting what you sell. While the design of this packaging helps in marketing the product, it’ll be limited.
So if you want to maximize the chances that your product will be noticed, you need to use a display box to make it happen.
There are three important benefits if you make an effort.
1. For Promotion
The first reason is for promotional purposes, specifically for new products. How will they know about the new offer without using a display box? You might miss out on a sale because customers remain ignorant of your products.
Don’t forget to put your brand in that box. Make it visible so people will know that the new product is from you.
This isn’t just for new products. If you want to promote a marketing campaign your brand is launching, you can also use display boxes.
2. For Positioning
Another benefit of using display boxes is that you can position them however you want. Typical products in a box will just be put on a shelf with other items. It’ll be harder to get the attention of your target customers.
Imagine if your product is displayed separately, like in counter display boxes. Or by the door of retail or convenience stores. The chances that people will notice it will be higher.
3. For Value
Finally, putting your products in display boxes can quickly increase their value. How these boxes are designed gives you space to highlight the product’s important features.
Use the display box to promote the product and the features that you know your customers will appreciate. Put your brand logo and name prominently, and use them to call out to your current and loyal customers.
By highlighting the best parts of the product, you’re increasing its value in the eyes of your customers.
5 Rules that’ll Make Display Boxes Effective
Now that you understand the power of display boxes in marketing your products, the challenge is how you can make them effective.
You can’t just copy the product packaging design; print it on a display box and expect it to increase sales of your products.
That’s not how it works.
You have to put together the correct box, from the material to the design. Every little thing matters to ensure that customers’ buying decisions go in your favor.
To design display boxes for your products, here are five tips that you can follow.
1. Placement Matters
When considering the design of your display boxes, you must also consider where they’ll be placed. The location will dictate how it’ll attract your target market’s attention.
Counter display boxes should be designed differently from floor boxes positioned by the door. When people are standing in line to pay for their purchases, they’re in their buying mindset. You can make your box informative because people have time to spare while waiting.
Floor display boxes are positioned in high-traffic areas. People passing by are more distracted because they’re focused on where they need to go next. This means an informative box would do you no good.
It has to be creative enough to make people stop and pay attention. You should also ensure that your brand logo is in a prominent and visible place. That way, your loyal customers will know that you have something new to offer in the display box.
2. Avoid Putting too Much Faith in Impulse Buying
Here’s a scenario. A customer is lining up to pay for the products. As they wait, they see the counter display boxes and start reading them. They get to your box, and they become interested enough to pick up your product and pay for it.
That’s it.
Can you say that your display boxes did their job? Not really.
Retail display boxes aren’t just meant to make people make impulse purchases. They should encourage your customers to make repeat purchases.
How? By making your box design represent the product well, the goal is to make sure the product meets the expectations formed when the customer reads the design in the display boxes.
3. Send a Powerful Message
As a marketing tool, custom display boxes can be used to send a powerful message to your customers. Once you’ve gotten their attention, educating them is your chance.
Put custom inserts in the box so people will know more about your brand. Or give them proper instructions on how to use your product. That way, they can fully enjoy your product’s benefits.
As it improves their customer experience, you can bet they’ll want to buy more from your brand.
4. Choose the Right Materials
Since display boxes can be used to send a message, pay attention to the materials you use. Even how your boxes are constructed will reveal much about your brand.
For instance, if you want to build a reputation as a sustainable brand, choose an eco-friendly packaging material like cardboard. Using cardboard display boxes allows for versatility in the design, plus it’s also sustainable.
Pick a packaging solution that’s aligned with the reputation that you want to have for your brand. This will attract your target customers to you.
5. Make It Durable and Reusable
One way to make your display boxes eco-friendly is to ensure that they can be reused. That means you should use sturdy corrugated box designs.
A strong yet light material ensures the display boxes won’t easily be damaged. It can be used as storage even after it’s no longer used.
This will help keep your packaging waste low and uphold your brand’s reputation for being sustainable.
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FAQs
Q1: What is the main purpose of a display box?
It highlights products and attracts customer attention.
Q2: Are display boxes only for new products?
No, they can also support promotions and ongoing campaigns.
Q3: Which material is best for display boxes?
Cardboard is the most versatile and eco-friendly option.
Q4: Where should the display boxes be placed?
High-traffic areas such as checkout counters, entrances, or aisle ends.
Q5: Do display boxes increase sales?
Yes, they make products more visible and appealing to customers.
Conclusion
Display boxes are more than packaging. They are marketing tools that increase visibility, strengthen branding, and enhance sales. Whether you use cardboard, counter, or floor displays, the key lies in thoughtful design and placement. By following best practices, you ensure your products not only catch attention but also encourage lasting customer relationships.
Find the Best Display Box Design for Your Products with Packoi
Are you ready to make your products stand out? At Packoi Printing, we design display boxes that balance creativity, sustainability, and function. Our team helps you create eco-friendly and eye-catching designs tailored to your goals.
Contact us today to discuss your project and get a fair quote. Let’s build packaging that attracts customers and strengthens your brand.
