Revenge of the Tactile: Why We’re Craving Stickers Again
There’s a drawer in my house I haven’t opened in years. Last weekend, I pulled it out and found a forgotten ziplock bag of stickers from the early 2000s. Vans logos, Volcom stones, skeleton hands, weird indie bands—dad-labeled detritus from another lifetime. And you know what? I peeled one off and stuck it on my laptop. It felt extremely good.
We never really left the age of stickers, but something recently shifted in how brands are using them. Not as giveaways, but as touchpoints. Stickers have re-emerged in packaging, physical marketing, and even product design as something close to emotional currency. If you’ve ordered anything from Allbirds lately, or bought a can of Garage Project, you’ll notice: the sticker isn't an afterthought. It’s deliberate. It's a collectible. It’s the kind of thing that says hey, we thought you might want to keep this.
In a sea of digital frictionlessness, stickers have weight. Not metaphorically—literally. They crinkle when you peel them. They’re proof that the brand wanted you to experience something tactile, something unnecessary but delightful. Skate brands and zines have known this forever. Now beauty startups and craft distilleries are catching on. Some are even releasing entire batches of products purely to get the sticker in your hand. It’s nostalgia if done poorly. It’s intimacy if done right.
Of course, not every sticker is a strategy. Some are just stickers. But for marketers and designers looking to build longer-term emotional memory, the lesson is simple: people like things they can touch and keep. So if your packaging budget has room for something unnecessary, make it unforgettable. Make it stick.
We never really left the age of stickers, but something recently shifted in how brands are using them. Not as giveaways, but as touchpoints. Stickers have re-emerged in packaging, physical marketing, and even product design as something close to emotional currency. If you’ve ordered anything from Allbirds lately, or bought a can of Garage Project, you’ll notice: the sticker isn't an afterthought. It’s deliberate. It's a collectible. It’s the kind of thing that says hey, we thought you might want to keep this.
In a sea of digital frictionlessness, stickers have weight. Not metaphorically—literally. They crinkle when you peel them. They’re proof that the brand wanted you to experience something tactile, something unnecessary but delightful. Skate brands and zines have known this forever. Now beauty startups and craft distilleries are catching on. Some are even releasing entire batches of products purely to get the sticker in your hand. It’s nostalgia if done poorly. It’s intimacy if done right.
Of course, not every sticker is a strategy. Some are just stickers. But for marketers and designers looking to build longer-term emotional memory, the lesson is simple: people like things they can touch and keep. So if your packaging budget has room for something unnecessary, make it unforgettable. Make it stick.