Europe Mailer Packaging Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Cushioned Mailers, Non-cushioned Mailers), By Insulation, By Material (Paper, Paper, Foil), By End-use, By Country, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030

Report Overview

The Europe mailer packaging market was valued at USD 3.50 billion in 2021. It is expected to expand at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.0% from 2022 to 2030. The rising consumer focus on online shopping across the continent along with government mandates for paper packaging drives the market growth. The presence of a huge number of online shoppers coupled with their increased spending on e-commerce websites is driving market growth.

According to a collaborative report published by EuroCommerce and Amsterdam University of Applied Science, e-shoppers have increased to 71% in 2020 from 66% in 2019. This increase was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which pushed consumers toward online shopping. The report included 37 countries that exhibited an increase in B2C e-commerce turnover, as well as E-GDP (the share of GDP made up by e-commerce). Additionally, the E-GDP of Europe remains on the path of constant growth with a growing share of 3.1%, 3.5%, 3.9%, and 4.3% respectively from 2017 to 2020.

The mailers packaging market of Germany witnesses strong demand for sustainable alternatives like paper mailers, and recycled material mailers among others. The favorable government mandates associated with environment-friendly packaging across the regional packaging industry contribute to the increasing revenue demand for mailers in the country. Additionally, the government's focus on increasing packaging waste is likely to increase the reusing and recycling of mailers during the forecast period in Europe.

As per the European Commission, the latest directive contains updated measures to prevent the production of packaging waste. It promotes the reuse, recycling, and other forms of recovering of packaging waste, instead of its final disposal. The directive has set goals for recovering the packaging waste instead of the disposal, and for paper and cardboard, the set goal is 75% by 2025 and 85% by 2030.

Mailers are the protective packaging particularly used in shipping smaller or individual goods. These are of various types and sizes and are made up of materials including plastic and paper. These are used in the postal industry for the packaging of lightweight and fairly flat items like hard copies of documents, books, and clothes among others. The booming e-commerce industry utilizes various types of mailers because of their quality and wide space for branding. These are used to customize the packaging, especially for home delivery of consumer goods.

COVID-19 Impact

The Europe mailer packaging market exhibited decelerating growth in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The packaging demand decreased when the virus spread across the globe, and as a result, the region experienced major monetary and life loss. In order to limit the spread of the virus, the EU imposed several rules and regulations. Therefore, companies were required to halt their production units, distribution channels were disrupted, and retail markets were closed. This impacted sales especially in the second quarter of 2020.

The pandemic had a significant impact on people’s lives and income sources. It also had a negative impact on EU industries and ultimately the GDP of the region. Short and long-distance mobility restrictions across the continent caused both a fall in production and considerable disruption in supply chains. These obstacles resulted in decreased spending power of the people which was another major factor responsible for the slowed growth in 2020.

Product Insights

The cushioned mailers segment is projected to experience the fastest CAGR of 15.2% over the forecast period. The continuously increased demand for protective packaging remains a major driver of market growth. These bubble mailers or padded mailers have extra plastic paddings or bubble wrap layers inside along with an outside layer of either plastic or kraft paper. This padding offers extra protection by providing cushioning against sharp edges as well as water resistance while shipping. Additionally, these are cheaper packaging alternatives for products that need extra bubble wrapping for protection.

These cushioned mailers are available in various sizes and materials. These are used for shipping books, stationery, DVDs, electronics, promotional materials, and other small items that require protection from damage. These mailers are equipped with a strong self-sealing strip that eliminates the need for tape, which further saves time and packaging costs. Its key features include durability, lightweight, and moisture resistance which are further projected to support the demand over the forecast period.

Material Insights

The paper segment dominated the market with a share of over 52.2% in 2021. The paper segment accounted for the maximum revenue share in the market owing to the high environmental concern and sustainable packaging initiatives taken up by the market players. Mailers made up of paper are widely used across the region for packaging and shipping documents, clothing, and books among others. Sustainable packaging practices in the region are the primary factor supporting the dominance in the market. The segment is also projected to experience significant demand in the forecast period owing to the continuously increasing online shoppers in European countries.

According to the Statistics Explained, a Luxembourg (LU)-based statistical office of the European Union (EU), around 74% of internet users in the EU shopped online in 2021. As per the survey of 2021 on ICT (information and communication technology) usage in households and by individuals, the share of proportions found in the youngest age group ranging from 16-24 is highest i.e., 80%, and closely followed by 79% share by the age group between 25 to 54. The overall trend of the survey shows that the share of e-shoppers among internet users is continuing to grow, which is expected to support the growth of packaging in the region.

Paper mailers continue to gain growth in the e-commerce industry due to the increased online shopping of clothing in the region. Clothing and footwear are amongst the most popular product categories followed by books and home electronics respectively, which supports the demand for mailers packaging, particularly in the clothing and books category.

Insulation Insights

Based on the insulation type, the non-insulated mailers led the industry with a revenue share of 87.5% in 2021. The segment is also projected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. This is due to the widespread application of non-insulated mailers across end-use industries. These are largely used for non-food and beverage applications. In these segments, the products are not temperature sensitive and thus are not required to be supplied to cater to a specific or predetermined packaging environment.

Moreover, insulated mailers are projected to experience the fastest growth with a CAGR of 15.4% over the forecast period between 2022 to 2030. These are made with pre-installed insulation to protect the packaged products from the outside environment temporarily. These mailers are manufactured with the use of a metal layer that provides the ability to maintain the temperature of the packaged products like ice cream or medicines among others.

End-use Insights

Based on the end-use industries, the market is segmented across E-commerce, shipping & logistics, and manufacturing & warehousing. The E-commerce segment accounted for the maximum revenue share of over 48% in 2021. The segment is projected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast timeframe. Furthermore, the segment is also projected to exhibit the fastest CAGR of over 15% from 2022 to 2030. The rapidly expanding e-commerce industry along with the increased awareness about e-commerce remains the primary drivers of growth.

Furthermore, e-commerce caters to various consumer goods categories including apparel, personal & household care, stationaries, healthcare, and electrical & electronics among others which supports the dominating share of the segment in the mailers market. The e-commerce players are also expanding their profit share through various offers and discount coupons along with increased marketing and advertisement budgets to open new avenues of opportunities. This is further expected to drive the demand for mailers to pack the products for home deliveries across the region. 

The e-commerce giants continue to experience growth despite fierce competition and increased alternatives. Amazon, ASOS, and eBay are the most commonly visited online fashion stores in the region. B2C e-commerce sales in the apparel category of these stores are showing significant year-over-year growth. This increase in demand for online products is supporting the demand for mailers packaging in Europe.

According to Amazon, the company has 176 million monthly unique visitors from key European countries including the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. It has more than eighty-six thousand third-party sellers with over USD 100 thousand Amazon EU marketplace sales in 2020. Additionally, the company sold more than 2,700 products per minute in the Amazon EU marketplace.

Country Insights

The market in Germany held a revenue share of 35.8% in 2021. The country is projected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. Germany is Europe’s largest economy and has the largest population base. The high disposable income of people coupled with the rising focus on online shopping contributes to the dominating share of the country.

The most popular and revenue-generating product category in Germany is online fashion, followed by consumer media and electronics. For instance, Amazon is one of the biggest e-commerce giants in the region. According to the EHI Retail Institute, Amazon.de was the industry leader in Germany in 2020 and the company reached a turnover of EUR 13.9 billion (USD 17.1 billion) in 2020. The e-commerce giant has exhibited sales growth of 22% in Germany for 2020.

Along with these, letter mailing also contributes to the country’s dominating share in mailer packaging revenue. The letters are commonly packed in mailers for transportation from one place to another and the substantial presence of this segment in the country remains an additional contributor to its dominating industry share.

Deutsche Post AG Group is the world's leading logistic company which has around 62% share in Germany’s mail communication market. The company with a workforce of around 118,600 mail couriers delivers around 49 million letters and 5.9 million parcels in Germany every working day via its nationwide transport and delivery network. The company’s mail communication segment is targeted toward both private and business customers with services for physical and hybrid letters.

Romania is projected to exhibit the fastest CAGR of 18.1% over the forecast period. This growth is led by the rapidly increasing B2C e-commerce where items are packaged in mailers to ship them from one place to another. Additionally, the country has only around 45% e-shoppers according to Eurostat. This number is projected to increase over the forecast timeframe from 2022 to 2030. This increase in e-shoppers will support the growth of mailer packaging in the country during the forecast timeframe.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the E-GDP of the country is around 3.5% which can further increase over the forecast period. These are the factors anticipated to support the fastest growth of Romania mailer packaging over the forecast period.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is fragmented with the presence of various large-sized and medium-sized players. Companies continue to look to expand their production capacity and geographical footprints. Additionally, the players are also focused on more sustainable packaging solutions owing to the rising EU rules and regulations against increasing waste disposal and plastic usage.

In June 2021, Mondi has announced its plans of investing in its European operations to upscale its MailerBAG production to cater to the increasing demand for flexible packaging in e-commerce. The company is expanding its paper-based MailerBAG range in order to replace plastic packaging in e-commerce with a recyclable solution.

The continuously rising efforts by the government for the protection of the environment from increasing waste from the packaging industry are likely to exhibit significant changes in the manufacturing practices of players in the market over the forecast period. For instance, in October 2020, Henkel launched a sustainable technology that can enhance the paper experience for e-commerce packaging. The newly launched EPIX technology enhances paper mailers by providing flexible, form-fitting, and lower-profile packaging options.

Some prominent players in the Europe mailer packaging market include:

• Sealed Air

• Mondi Group

• Intertape Polymer Group

• Henkel Corporation

• Polisac SA

• VP Group

• Storopack Hans Reichenecker GmbH

• Abriso Jiffy

• 3M

• Pregis LLC

Europe Mailer Packaging Market Report Scope

Europe Mailer Packaging Market Segmentation

This report forecasts the volume and revenue growth at the regional and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the Europe mailer packaging market report based on product, insulation, material, end-use, and country:

• Product Outlook (Volume, Thousand Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Cushioned Mailers

  • Non-cushioned Mailers

• Insulation Outlook (Volume, Thousand Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Insulated

  • Non-Insulated

• Material Outlook (Volume, Thousand Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Plastic

  • Paper

  • Foil

• End-use Outlook (Volume, Thousand Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • E-commerce

  • Shipping & Logistics

  • Manufacturing & Warehousing

• Country Outlook (Volume, Thousand Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Austria

  • Belgium

  • Bulgaria

  • Croatia

  • Cyprus

  • Czech Republic

  • Denmark

  • Estonia

  • Finland

  • France

  • Germany

  • Greece

  • Hungary

  • Ireland

  • Italy

  • Latvia

  • Lithuania

  • Luxembourg

  • Malta

  • Netherlands

  • Poland

  • Portugal

  • Romania

  • Slovakia

  • Slovenia

  • Spain

  • Sweden