Packaging is the most ephemeral marketing medium: You can keep an email newsletter or revisit a social media post, but once you’ve opened the packaging, it gets tossed, and that’s the end of it.
Or at least it used to be.
Connected packaging has changed the game. Static, physical packaging has become a portal that can lead to any digital content. The future of connected packaging looks bright, with interactive experiences that enhance consumer engagement.
The best part? You don’t need especially sophisticated tech to make it happen. No microchips, holograms, or quantum physics here. Read on to find out how you can create connected packaging solutions with Bitly QR Codes, short links, and instant landing pages.
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
Why product packaging matters after the sale
For many brands, packaging is the final physical interaction they’ll have with a customer. Once the box is opened or the product is used, future engagement shifts to digital channels making that last in-person touchpoint especially valuable.
It’s not just about protecting the product anymore: Packaging plays a growing role in post-purchase loyalty, education, and advocacy. That’s why more brands are investing in connected packaging experiences that extend customer engagement beyond the sale. In fact, brand confidence in connected packaging rose to 88.8% in 2025, up nearly 8% from the previous year.
Here’s a closer look at why packaging matters after the sale.
It’s a brand’s post-purchase moment of truth
The customer journey doesn’t end when the customer checks out; it continues through delivery, unboxing, and use. There’s a good reason why unboxing videos start with product packaging—because it’s a huge part of the experience.
Packaging is the customer’s first real-world interaction with your product, and it plays a critical role in setting expectations for the customer experience because it communicates the quality, care, and thought you put into your product.
Intentional, well-designed packaging can create a memorable moment that customers are eager to experience again.
Physical packaging rarely connects to digital strategy
For many brands, packaging remains disconnected from their broader digital experience. While boxes and labels often include a URL, hashtag, or social handle, it’s not easy or intuitive for customers to engage with these resources if they have to take the time to manually type in a web address or search for your brand profile online.
Proactively linking your physical and digital strategies allows you to meet customers where they are when they’re most invested in your brand—the moment they open your product.
Connected packaging bridges the gap
Connected packaging is what takes your products from a disconnected physical touchpoint to a dynamic, interactive one that feeds into your larger digital marketing strategy.
Rather than relying on customers to remember (and then manually type in) a URL or social handle, connected packaging makes it easy and seamless to engage with your digital content via your product packaging.
For example, adding a QR Code to the inside flap of a product that directs customers to an instructional video, loyalty program sign-up, or feedback survey via URL. The high-visibility location catches a customer’s attention as soon as they open the box. This simple change takes the package from a disposable box to an interactive digital asset that enriches and continues the customer experience, offering more information, more interaction, and a stronger sense of connection with your brand.
How Bitly helps you digitize product packaging
The Bitly Connections Platform gives marketers all the tools they need to create more effective, engaging product packaging. Here’s how:
Branded QR Codes with tracking built in
Bitly Codes allows you to create branded, Dynamic QR Codes for just about any surface, from boxes to paper inserts and beyond. Each code can link to any digital content via URL, and can be customized to align with your visual branding depending on your plan.
Bitly Codes are Dynamic, meaning that their destination URL can be updated at any time, and they collect scan data that shows you how customers are engaging with the content on your packaging.
Short links that are readable and memorable
Instead of including generic or long URLs on your product packaging, Bitly Links makes it easy to create short URLs that are easier to read and remember. With some plans, you can customize the domain and back-half of your URLs to incorporate your brand name and relevant keywords so customers know exactly where the URL will take them.
Bitly Pages for mobile-friendly engagement
Want to connect customers to an FAQ about the product they just bought? You can do it with Bitly Pages. With Bitly’s no-code landing page builder, you can create beautiful landing pages that you can direct to on your product packaging with a short link or QR Code. Use a pre-designed template or start from scratch for a custom look and feel that matches your branding.
Best of all? Bitly Pages are mobile optimized, so it’s easy to meet consumers on their preferred platform—their smartphones.
Editable destination links
Depending on your business, you may need to manage millions of links and QR Codes—especially if you individualize content across products or campaigns. Bitly makes it easy to handle links at scale. You can redirect QR Code destinations in real time without reprinting packaging, so updates are fast and seamless.
You can also tag and group links by product, campaign, or packaging type, making it easy to organize and measure campaign performance post-launch.
Use cases: What can you connect customers to?
There are plenty of ways to use product packaging to create stronger connections with your customers. Here are some top use cases:
How-to guides and product setup videos
Some products require a little extra support to help customers get started, especially if the product is complex or new. Showing customers how to use the product can help reduce upfront confusion and frustration, potentially boosting satisfaction.
Place QR Codes or short links on your packaging that lead to tutorials, visual assembly instructions, or how-to videos. This works especially well for products like tools, beauty products, or fitness gear—anything that would benefit from a solid visual demonstration.
Ingredient sourcing and sustainability info
Many consumers prioritize sustainability, and research supports that products that make ESG claims sell more often than those that don’t across most categories. Sharing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information about your products directly on the packaging is a great way to reinforce your brand values and build trust with customers.
Use short URLs and QR Codes on your packaging that directs customers to landing pages with detailed ESG-related product information, including details about sourcing, material sustainability, and commitment to fair trade initiatives.
Refill, reorder, or subscription prompts
Using product packaging as a communication medium is especially helpful for products that lend themselves to repeat purchases, like cosmetics refills, household staple reorders, or recurring subscriptions for snacks and goodies.
You can use QR Codes on packaging to direct customers to refill pages, subscription sign-ups, or reorder forms via URL—right when they’re finishing the product. Pair the code with a clear call to action to make the next purchase as seamless as possible.
Warranty activation or product registration
For higher-value products like household appliances, computers, or work tools, warranties and registrations help customers feel protected and supported. They’re also an important opportunity for brands to showcase their commitment to customer service by offering extended support and repairs.
You can improve registration rates by adding a QR Code or short link to your packaging that leads to a quick, mobile-friendly registration page. By removing the need for mail-in paper forms or hard-to-find URLs, the process becomes easier for customers and may make them more likely to register.
Customer feedback or review prompts
The best time to ask customers for feedback is just after they’ve opened a product and experienced it for the first time. What better place to prompt them for feedback than on the packaging itself?
Use short links and QR Codes on product packaging to link customers directly to review pages or surveys via URL. Be sure to include a relevant CTA that inspires action, like “How did we do? Let us know!” or “Help us improve—it only takes a minute!”
Loyalty rewards or membership access
The more you engage with customers, the more brand loyalty you can build. Encouraging loyalty program sign-ups or offering exclusive member content strengthens this bond and rewards repeat buyers. That means more sales, more brand advocacy, and higher order value over time.
With QR codes or short custom links on your packaging, you can invite customers to join your loyalty program, claim rewards, or access members-only content.
Design best practices for packaging links and QR Codes
Designing for product packaging usually means working with a small, crowded canvas. But with these tips in mind, you can make sure your QR Codes and short links get the attention they deserve.
Make it scannable (size, contrast, and placement)
QR Codes can work on almost any surface, but to ensure they scan reliably, they should follow a few key guidelines.
Make sure the code is large enough to be scanned comfortably, saved in a high-resolution format, and printed with strong color contrast so it remains clear and scannable even in poor lighting or on older devices.
Whenever possible, place them on a flat, smooth area of your packaging and avoid curved or uneven surfaces—the distortion can make them harder to scan.
Pair QR Codes with a clear CTA
When you design a QR Code with Bitly, you can incorporate a CTA into the frame around the code. Use the text to give customers clear directions and insight into what the code will show them, like:
- “Scan to see how it works”
- “Scan for recipe inspiration”
- “Scan to register”
- “Scan to see your rewards”
Keep short links legible and on brand
Short links are a big part of removing friction between your offline packaging and your online experience, but they need to be easy to read, trustworthy, and aligned with your brand.
Use a branded domain so customers immediately recognize the link as coming from you. Then, customize the back-half of the URL to make it clear where the link will take them, avoiding long strings of random letters or numbers.
For example, instead of a generic link like bit.ly/abc123, you could share something like mybrand.co/signup to guide customers to your loyalty program. Keep it short, descriptive, and visually clean so it’s easy to type and reinforces your brand at every touchpoint.
Consider insert cards and tamper labels
If the outer packaging is too small or design-heavy to fit a QR Code or short link, consider placing links or QR Codes on paper insert cards, the inside panels of the box, or even on tamper-evident labels or seals. These subtle spots let you share extra information or interactive content while keeping the primary packaging clean and on brand.
Managing product packaging campaigns in Bitly
Running connected packaging campaigns in Bitly works much like using Bitly for digital marketing campaigns—but with a few packaging-specific considerations. You’ll need a way to organize and label links across products and campaigns, track engagement metrics, and create links and QR Codes at scale.
Here’s how Bitly helps you tackle each of these challenges:
Organize links by SKU or campaign
When you’re using connected packaging across multiple products, batches, or promotions, it’s important to keep everything organized. You may need to filter links by product SKU, marketing campaign, production batch, audience segment, or even by different packaging designs you’re testing.
Bitly makes this easy. You can add tags to your Bitly Links for the desired filter and search by tag. You can also use the Campaigns feature (available in some plans) to organize links into folders.
Use QR Code and link analytics to measure engagement
Bitly Analytics gives you a wealth of metrics to see the impact of links on product packaging. Get insights into which codes and links your target audience engages with the most You can track:
- Clicks and scans over time (by day)
- Devices used to engage
- Click and scan locations (city- and country-level)
- Referring source
- Top performing links and QR Codes scans
When you combine Bitly Analytics with the tags and Campaigns features, it’s easy to run A/B tests for different link placements, CTAs, or content to figure out what gets the most response from your audience.
Manage bulk QR Codes with ease
When adding links to product packaging, you often need to create them at scale. Some links can be reused (like a video tutorial shared across all packages) while others, like SKU-specific labels, need unique links and QR Codes.
With some Bitly plans, you can use the bulk creation features to easily generate, shorten, customize, and tag large batches of links and QR Codes via CSV or XLSX upload. This approach streamlines large-scale campaigns while keeping everything organized and measurable.
Real-world examples of connected packaging done well
More consumer packaged goods brands are leveraging connected packaging to enhance the customer experience. Here are just a few using links and QR Codes on their product packaging to explain, inspire, and convert.
CPG brand linking to sustainability info
In 2021, beauty brand Cocokind made headlines with its approach to sharing sustainability information by adding “sustainability labels” to each product. Similar to nutritional information, these labels displayed scores in different categories, such as carbon emissions, packaging materials, and ethical production. Each product box also features a QR Code that links to more information about sustainable beauty.
Beverage company using QR Codes to share recipes
Wight Tea is a luxury tea brand, and their packaging reflects that luxury: peaceful, minimalist designs and QR Codes that encourage customers to try new tea recipes and combinations.
Wight Tea uses Bitly QR Codes on each box of tea to offer recipes, how-to videos, and a guide to the brand’s history and mission. They also use Bitly Pages to create a landing page where customers can select from a menu of content to choose the option that’s most valuable to them.
Skincare brand offering scan to refill
Beauty Kitchen is a cosmetics brand that’s committed to reducing waste. They’re in a competitive industry, so they needed a way to retain customers without compromising on sustainability. That’s when they launched the Return for Reward program across all products.
Every piece of Beauty Kitchen packaging has a QR Code. When a product is used up, customers scan the QR Code to get information about how to return the packaging to Beauty Kitchen for a refill. The customer also gets a discount on their next purchase, encouraging repeat purchases and brand loyalty.
Bitly supports a consistent brand experience across packaging
Projecting a consistent brand image is a key part of attracting and retaining customers. They should have the same consumer experience across your web pages, ads, product packaging, loyalty programs, and so on.
Here’s how Bitly helps you achieve that consistency with custom links, QR Code designs, and landing pages.
Branded links and QR Codes reinforce identity
Every touchpoint sends a message about your brand. Bitly makes it easy to keep that message on-brand and trustworthy.
With Bitly, you can create short links that use a custom branded domain so customers immediately recognize and trust where the link comes from. You can also edit the back half of the URL to include clear, keyword-rich descriptions of the destination, boosting clarity and making customers more likely to engage.
Bitly Codes can also be fully customized to match your brand, with options to adjust colors, frames, patterns, and CTAs. A cohesive look across links and codes strengthens your brand presence and reassures customers they’re in the right place.
Consistent landing pages drive recognition and trust
Once a customer scans a QR Code or clicks a link, the destination should feel just as polished and on-brand as the packaging it came from. Bitly Pages makes it easy to deliver that consistent experience without waiting for developer resources.
With Bitly Pages, you can quickly create branded, mobile-friendly landing pages that align with your visual identity and tone of voice. You can even save templates to reuse for different products, promotions, or campaigns so all your post-purchase interactions feel cohesive across your entire product line.
Link performance helps refine future packaging
A consistent brand experience isn’t just about how it looks. It’s also about learning what resonates with customers and improving over time.
Bitly Analytics gives you clear insight into how your links and QR Codes perform. You can track scan and click metrics, and even tag links to compare performance by packaging design, campaign, or store location.
These insights show you which designs, calls to action, and placements drive engagement so you can use them to optimize your packaging and messaging in future campaigns.
Make product packaging your next digital channel with Bitly
Product packaging is no longer something to be thrown away. It’s transformed into an active part of the customer experience: connecting customers to your brand and encouraging repeat purchases.
Adding QR Codes to product packaging turns each product into a digital portal. You can use them to track stock and supply chains, share enhanced product information, encourage product registration, collect customer feedback, and recruit loyal customers into reward programs.
Bitly is your all-in-one platform for creating links, QR Codes, and landing pages to use in connected packaging. You can create links at scale, then track every last scrap of data to see how customers interact with connected packaging. Instead of disposable paper or plastic, your product packaging becomes a powerful new marketing channel.
Put your product packaging to work and enjoy more customer engagement and foster better post-purchase customer experiences. Get started with Bitly today!
