Summer can usher in an order volume surge for ecommerce sales. In fact, recent data shows that during the summer months, many brands earn as much as 90 percent of their peak holiday season revenue. But this time of year also introduces weather risks such as heat, humidity, and rainstorms—all of which can compromise packages before they reach a customer’s door. These hazards can weaken boxes, warp contents, and cause transit delays that expose shipments to conditions they were never built to handle.
Summer Is Harder on Shipments Than Most Businesses Realize
Because summer is a high-volume season for the shipping industry, the costs of weather damage or delays often accumulate fast across the supply chain. Heat can warp products, melt adhesives, or cause contents to shift as materials expand in boxes.
Humidity can also soften corrugated cardboard, which harms its structural integrity and makes it less durable to protect whatever is inside. Storm delays pose a threat as well, causing boxes to sit in hot delivery vehicles or on loading docks for several hours at a time. The damage isn’t always extensive, but even a peeled off seal or a visibly warped box can leave customers with a less-than-ideal impression of your business.
Humidity Causes More Damage Than a Rainstorm
Rain and humidity often get less attention than heat, but they are responsible for some of the most common summer shipping issues. A package doesn’t necessarily have to encounter direct moisture to still be impacted. Ambient humidity can work its way into corrugated boxes while in transit, softening the walls, weakening the seams, and leaving the box structurally compromised by the time it arrives at its final destination.
Research confirms that corrugated box compression strength decreases as moisture content rises, and humidity is one of the main culprits of this deterioration. To avoid this outcome, here are some practical defenses to reinforce your product packaging:
- Poly bags or poly sheeting around interior contents create a moisture barrier that cardboard alone cannot provide.
- Desiccant packets help manage humidity in sealed packages. This is especially useful for long transits or climate-sensitive items.
- Water-resistant tape on all seams can prevent moisture from seeping in at the most vulnerable points of the box.
Heat Affects Products More Than You Might Think
Heat can wreak all sorts of havoc on packages before they ever reach a customer’s door. Heat often causes adhesives to soften, labels to peel, or boxes to lose their shape and stability. The risk extends far beyond perishable shipments—electronics, candles, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals are all vulnerable to sustained heat levels, too.
Insulated liners and thermal packages offer a reliable buffer of protection for heat-sensitive items, while gel packs help maintain a stable environment through the transit window. To minimize the overall risk, determine which products in your catalog are vulnerable to heat well before the summer months arrive. Waiting until customer complaints start rolling in will cost more than a proactive adjustment ahead of time.
Your Outer Box Has to Work Harder in the Summer
Heavier wall strength, water-resistant tape on all seams, and closure reinforcements are worth implementing before the summer volume accelerates. A box that looks sturdy when it leaves the warehouse can sustain noticeable damage if the outer layer wasn’t built to handle a long, humid transit. Outer packaging is the last line of defense once a shipment leaves your hands, and summer is the season that tests its strength the most.
The Payoff of Planning Ahead for Seasonal Weather
Most of these summer damage risks are preventable with a few minor, practical tweaks to your warehouse operations. The changes that lead to the most beneficial payoffs occur before a shipment leaves the facility, so invest in sustainable weatherproofing on the frontend. After all, customers don’t care about the weather—they just want to know their delivery will show up on time and in top-notch condition.
