Personalization adds a human element to any brand by making it all about the consumer, rather than the product.” ~ Jason Brown
Who doesn’t love a customized shopping experience?
Offering a personalized customer experience doesn’t just provide the shopper with what they want; it also creates a closer bond between the brand and the customer. It is this personalized customer experience that drives success and business growth.
A study by Deloitte found that 36% of customers covet customized products.
Surprisingly, 1 in 5 of these shoppers are willing to pay 20% more for owning a product that has specifically been customized for them. Better still, 48% of the respondents said they’re willing to prolong the wait time for products customized for them.
Let that sink!
Product customization should be an integral part of your e-commerce strategy. When used efficiently, it can lead to more conversions, give you a competitive advantage, increase user engagement, and improve customer trust in your brand.
But what exactly is product customization?
This article will delve into the crux of product customization in e-commerce and explore its key benefits to an organization. We’ll also give you some real-life examples of companies reaping big from product customizations. Let’s dive in!
What Is Product Customization?
Product customization refers to the practice of offering goods that have their key features and other elements altered to suit customer preferences.
In customization, the company provides a selection of options for the customer to choose from. Customization is essential in delivering personalized customer experiences to different segments of users.
What about product customization in e-commerce?
In e-commerce, product customization entails showing individualized ways of create a unique version of a product thanks to technology like Visual Customizers, Product Configurator and Augmented Reality Viewers.
E-commerce product customization is key to driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
As online merchants seek to drive more sales, increase engagement, and build better relationships with their customers, product personalization has become one of the most efficient tools in a marketer’s arsenal.
Product Customization in E-Commerce: Hype or the Real Deal
Today, the market is flooded with “unique ways” to drive more e-commerce sales from different marketers’ perspectives.
Every marketer has a conversion rate optimization tactic they swear by—some with mind-boggling statistics that seem too good to be true.
But unlike those strategies that can “theoretically” drive sales and engagement, product customization is the real deal.
Why?
Many organizations, including big names like Nike and Netflix, have reported significant cost savings and increased engagement through personalization. For instance, Netflix says its AI recommendation engine saves the company $1 billion per month.
To better bring this point home, take a look at these product customization statistics.
- Marketers who implement product customizations see a 20% increase in sales
- 79% of organizations that exceeded their revenue goals have a product customization strategy in place
- 80% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from a brand that offers customized experiences
- Brands offering customized experiences report a 40% decrease in product returns
With these proven stats, it goes without saying what product customization can do for your business. Gartner predicts a minimum of 15% increase in profit for those who succeed in personalization, but there’s no limit to what you can achieve with it.
The Benefits of Product Customizations
Without further ado, here’s what you can expect when you adopt a product customization strategy.
1. Boost Sales
The most obvious advantage of product customization is an increase in sales.
As noted earlier, 1 in 5 consumers is okay paying for a personalized product. One reason for this is the product connection a shopper establishes with a customized product.
Delivering customers exactly what they need is one of the surefire ways to increase sales. And personalizing a product doesn’t just ramp up sales; it also keeps your customers satisfied, which fosters loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Customers are looking for value, which you can quickly achieve with product customizations. When searching online, they might even find a similar product for a much lower price. But can they customize it to their liking? Can they see it in 3D before buying it? And that’s where product customization works in your favor.
2. Increase Customer Loyalty
If you want your customers to stick with your brand long-term, you must understand their needs and how they want them fulfilled.
When you customize your products to their tastes, your customers see what they want, and their satisfaction levels grow significantly.
And if customers feel like they have your undivided attention, they’re more likely to stick around and establish a long-term relationship. This relationship leads to loyalty, brand advocacy, and repeat purchases.
3. You Gain a Competitive Advantage
With competition in the e-commerce space growing by the day, what can give you an edge over the competition is the user experience you offer to your customers.
E-commerce personalization helps you to achieve just that—better product personalization. And it’s obvious that a friendlier e-commerce website is more appealing to users.
When you pay attention to what customers are personalizing in their products, you will gain valuable insights into what they’re looking for and what’s lacking in your website and business. This way, you can quickly analyze the buyer preferences and use this data to offer the right products to your customers.
4. Increased User Engagement
Personalization brings in more users to your site. The more users engage with your website, the higher the likelihood of conversions.
Moreover, if your customers can relate with your website better, they will automatically spend more time on it.
Research shows that 60% of customers prefer it if online stores remember their contact details and purchase information. The increased engagement often leads to increased sales and saves the company the money and time it would have spent on retargeting campaigns.
5. Attract Millennials
By offering product customization, winning millennials becomes easier.
The truth is, in today’s digital generation, millennials make the most purchases. According to research, this generational cohort makes 54% of their purchases online.
Understanding how millennials shop is critical as they’re expected to become the largest adult population in the US. By understanding their buying habits, brands can win over millennials by customizing their product pages to reflect their needs.
And as one of the largest generational cohorts in the US, personalizing products and services to millennials’ tastes will require more than a name and email. Product customization in e-commerce may be the key to attracting this generational cohort.
Examples of Brands Leveraging E-Commerce Product Customization
Many companies, big and small, have hopped on to the product customization bandwagon and are benefiting from it. Here are some examples of brands that have successfully adopted a product customization strategy.
1. Amazon
When it comes to predictive modeling, behavioral targeting, and contextually relevant marketing, Amazon carries the Oscar because of the sheer amount of data at its disposal.
This e-commerce giant has access to data points like search queries, past purchase history, time of past purchases, and more. It crunches this information to truly understand the customer preferences and aid in product delivery.
Their “customers who bought this product also bought” and “frequently bought together with” works exceptionally well, with over 40% of customers buying based on these recommendations. Amazon always knows the buyer’s mind and nails it right on the head when it comes to product recommendations.
Plus, every time you visit their marketplace, the platform displays a new page, personalized for you based on unique factors like past purchase history, frequently searched items, and real-time shopping cart data.
2. Forever 21
This California-based fashion giant continues to wow its customers with excellent product customization options.
Every time a returning customer visits their website, the company automatically changes the landing page based on the customer’s past purchases and preferences. The landing page displays personalized search results, offers, and recommendations to increase user engagement and drive conversions.
For new users, the search results get increasingly relevant with every click on the product pages. For instance, if you search for pajamas, the site will first display a mixed assortment of pajamas. But if you apply filters for women’s pajamas, the search results begin showing more women’s clothing options besides the pajamas.
3. Silent Pool Distillers
The eCommerce allows Silent Pool Distillers to reach more customers. So when it becomes an integral part of their business, they realize they can expand their user base even further. Why not allow customers to customize the labels of some products? An excellent idea for gifts or gadgets during celebrations.
They didn’t have a problem to solve but a new market to reach. So they think of Product Customization to offer their customers a unique, engaging and personalized experience. They needed an easy-to-use tool that integrated seamlessly with the services they already used.
Silent Pool Distillers wanted to build something that played nice with BigCommerce. After researching the available apps, they choose Zakeke. The Product Customizer integrates seamlessly and quickly with BigCommerce and responds to all the needs they have.
Wrapping Up
So, there you have it.
As you can see, there are many benefits to product customizations. From boosting sales to increasing customer loyalty, understanding your customers better, and gaining a competitive advantage—there’s more to gain from implementing product customizations. If you’d love to personalize your customers’ shopping experience with AR and 3D solutions, contact us today for free consultation or book a demo. We can turn any item in your store into a customizable product your customers will love.
If you are wondering what you can do with Zakeke, check out our DEMO STORE.
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