7 benefits of product customization in your online store

Until a few years ago, personalized products were pretty much limited to a small circle of brands and items. It mainly comprised of gifting items, showcase products, or marketing merchandise. Figuratively speaking, you could count the amount of personalized items on the fingers of one hand. Luckily, a lot has changed. For the good. Sellers of pretty much everything, from dresses and shirts to handbags and even consumer packaged goods, are discovering the benefits and value of product customization. More and more brands are finding out that the personalization of items and services is a great way to enhance customer loyalty and engagement. In this article, we will delve deeper into the world of product customization. What are the main benefits of such an approach? And how does the rise of personalized products affect the contemporary e-commerce industry?

What is product customization?

Everybody loves a personal touch. This is especially true in today’s online shopping universe, which allows you to order the product of your choice from the comfort of your own sofa. Furthermore, the spectacular rise in the number of online stores has given customers a wide array of buying options. And this is where product customization comes into play. Companies that implement product customization, design, alter and market their items to the customer’s needs or desires. Thanks to the rise of Big Data, manufacturers, developers and online stores are increasingly finding ingenious ways to present personalized products and services to their customers. Product customization offers many benefits and generally leads to higher conversion rates. In the following paragraphs we will you show you why product personalization really works!

Standing out from the crowd

We live in an extremely commercial day and age. This means that there is an overload of products and services out there. Online shoppers are aware of this. They know that they can compare prices of common products very easily. Well targeted product customization gives your online store the opportunity to stand out from the crowd by fine-tuning items and services. Customization is a great way to differentiate your products and services from those of your competitors. A good example of this is the personalized homepage that premium airline KLM offers to customers who create an online account via social media. The page features all of the subscriber’s travel details front and center, as well as the ability to easily manage bookings and check-ins online.

Customization enhances customer loyalty and engagement

Offering personalized products is a big stepping stone towards achieving high levels of trust and customer loyalty. Basic psychology dictates that people tend to like stuff that shouts out loud ‘this is me’. Customized products cater to this need. They align items with core character traits and values of the customer and facilitate individual expression. At the same time, they invoke a strong sense of ownership.

Individuality and abundance

Furthermore, modern e-commerce developments have made it possible for buyers to purchase their customized products without a whole lot of effort. Consumer-choice bundling is a form of product customization that combines individuality and the need for popular products to be available in abundance. Serena & Lilly combines these two pillars of product personalization in a smart way. The company offers online shoppers the option to design their own bedding combinations. This means buying existing products, which are then collected from a warehouse and shipped to the buyers. Some brands have taken product customization one step further and even grant buyers the freedom to design a unique, wholly personalized item that will be built to order. The customer can usually choose from a range of features, which can be added to the basic design.
Co-operative Travel has seen a 95% increase in visitors and 217% growth in revenue once it started implementing personalization strategies on its website. Personalizing MMS messages to 1200 American customers allowed the German automobile giant BMW to improve conversions by a staggering 30 percent.

Customization stimulates customer retention

Rising conversion rates are good news. But in the long run you want more. Increasing recurring conversion, client advocacy and retention is the real key to the long-term success of your online store. Research conducted by Ecoconsultancy showed that post-purchase loyalty programmes which contain personalized offers are among the most important factors when it comes to encouraging repeat purchases. The reason? Customer retention is mainly built on forging durable brand-customer relationships and familiarity. Personalization is a form of e-commerce that is perfectly suited for nurturing these two important building stones of customer loyalty. Luxury retailer Lane Crawford is a good example of a company that has understood this well. It actively invites consumers to join its ‘world of style’. This section features an animated showcase of the top 3 benefits for registered users. In addition to receiving free shipping on all orders, customers are also the first to receive information about new products and reap the benefits of an easy one-step checkout. The icing on the cake: loyal shoppers also receive rewarded points for purchases. These points are redeemable for exclusive gift cards.

Technology facilitates product customization

Developments such as the rise, constant optimization an democratization of modern technology have undoubtedly facilitated the rise of mass product customization. Integrating personalization tools into your content management system allows you to collect valuable information about your users. Demographics, online activities and product preferences are just a couple of striking examples. Qmaze is a splendid example of a platform that facilitates and simplifies product customization. It runs in the cloud and offers you the ability to develop product lists, orders and a wide range of product models, all customized in accordance with the preferences and wishes of buyers or dealers. This mode of operation lays the groundwork for a dynamic site that serves the individual needs of each visitor. Brands like Starline, Kingsley Footwear and Atlantis Memorials already utilize Qmaze to their full satisfaction.

Transparency and user-friendliness

Transparency and user-friendliness are also important aspects of product customization. Do you want to give shoppers the opportunity to design their own products? Make sure you offer them a simple and easy design template to work with. If the online design process is too complicated, difficult or unattractive, a lot of potential shoppers will be turned off. A streamlined return process is also a necessity for any online store that wants to make serious work of product personalization. A survey conducted by Forbes Magazine showed that demand for customization falls off precipitously if consumers think they could be stuck with an item they don’t really like.

Better marketing with a personal touch

The evidence speaks for itself: by providing a personalized shopping experience, particularly a predictive one, online stores and brands possess a real opportunity to distinguish themselves from the mediocre majority. An important asset in an increasingly overcrowded world of choices, products and services. Personalization and customization are the new secrets to success when it comes to offering a better customer experience. So don’t hesitate any longer. Take your e-commerce activities to the next level with a touch of personal finesse!