Shopping Bags

Shopping bags are not just a practical gadget for shoppers. From a business owner's perspective, since bags are customizable, they are a very cost-effective means of advertising. Your company's eye-catching logo, slogan, or other message, and even your location information, can be printed on the shopping bags. Shopping bags are carried around stores and malls, parking lots, into homes and offices, and even re-used later on. With a sturdy bag that can be re-used more than once, there is no telling how often and where your company's information might be seen by many people.

Sizes of Shopping Bags

There are five basic sizes of shopping bags, at least one of which will be perfect for the products your business sells:

• Short, wide shopping bags
• Taller, less wide shopping bags
• Mini shopping bags for items like jewelry, pharmaceuticals, or greeting cards
• Skinny shopping bags for wine bottles
• Reusable tote shopping bags.

Rainbow Colors for Shopping Bags

Shopping bags are available in nearly all colors, whether pastels or bright hues, and even black, white, and silver. Of course, the standard brown kraft paper bags are also popular. Some manufacturers also produce shopping bags that are clear or slightly tinted, allowing people to see through the bags. Other shopping bags have a frosted appearance.

Material of Shopping Bags

Shopping bags come in plastic, paper, or water-resistant polypropylene. Paper bags can have either a glossy or matte laminated finish. Reusable tote shopping bags are available in a variety of fabrics, even mesh.

Shopping Bag Features

Some shopping bags come with bottom gussets so they stand alone on a flat surface, and/or side gussets so they can spread out to accommodate bulkier items. Some also have cardboard bottom inserts to add support for heavier items. Serrated cut tops are also a popular feature on some paper shopping bags. The most important feature, to users, is the handle. Styles of shopping bag handles include:

• A macramé, rope-like handle
• A twisted-paper handle
• Either plastic or cotton drawstring
• Soft, flexible loops
• Die-cut handles (oval-shaped holes cut at the top of the front and back of the bag).

Customizing Your Shopping Bags

Your company's advertising message can be hot stamped or printed on the shopping bags you select. The price will vary with the type of printing process and also with the number of colors used. You will need camera-ready artwork of your logo, as well as the wording. Be aware that there may be a set-up charge for the design (and this charge may be per color, rather than per design). You will probably also need to order a minimum number of shopping bags if you want them customized. Don't forget to include in your budget separate shopping bags for the holidays with your seasonal greeting printing on them.

By Kathleen Goolsby