The impact of customization & personalization in E-Commerce
How to find the right shelf that exactly fits the roof slope? Or the bench with the right measurements? Customer needs are individual - which offers an often overlooked niche market. It is naïve to think that one-size-fits-all is satisfying the majority of customers. The expectations of shoppers evolve rapidly. Provide your audience what they need: simple and accessible product customization - the possibility to shape your product to fit their exact needs and expectations.
Copywriter,
04.11.2020
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How personalization via 3D configuration works
Customers often spot products they like - but they don’t quite fit their expectations. Without hesitation, they would accept the offer to adapt the product to their likings. This is only an example of how, through the use of one simple add-on, a sale could be secured.
Clients love being able to have control: creating pieces that are perfectly aligned with their sense of aesthetics and perform the job the product should satisfy. 3D customization is a widget that sparks increasingly more interest within online shoppers: 42% are interested in technology that helps them customize products.
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3D configurators offer easy on-demand customization for your clients - disguised as a playful DIY process to create their own individual product. A 3D configurator allows much more interaction and familiarization with a single product, which in turn leads to customers growing attached to their creation.
Within minutes, an item can be customized and adapted. The shoppers get to choose what exactly they will spend their money on. Due to this new technology, conversion rates can be widely improved.
3D configuration goes the extra mile
Only showing pictures of a product makes it difficult for potential customers to identify themselves with it. Upgrading from 2D to 3D, the item gains a much more realistic feel than a picture is able to conduct.
Sometimes customers are especially interested in a small detail not displayed in any of the pictures. If they were able to access the product in a physical shop, this problem would be solved within seconds. Online, this is a lack of information that might lead to not buying the product.
With 3D models of the product, the customers have a 360° view of the item and can access details in high resolution. Through 3D configuration, users are able to become part of the end product customization and can add the product extension that’s missing for them.
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3D displays create much more user engagement than static pictures. Already at an early stage, the shoppers get accustomed to the products, which influences their buying decision. Orders will be exactly to their expectations: no errors, less shipping costs for product returns, and higher customer satisfaction.
Individual product sales - a game-changer for e-Commerce
“I got this individually made for me” used to be something only the rich and wealthy were able to say about their furniture or clothing items. Due to personalization made available through 3D configuration, everyone can now enjoy the luxury of customization: Individuality becomes scalable.
Looking at trends and surveys, it becomes evident that 3D models are The Future of eCommerce. 3D configuration, virtual reality, and full customization are not only diminishing the difference between online and physical stores: those technologies grant an upgrade to the usual shopping experience.
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Customers are now not only able to virtually try the products: With 3D configuration, customers have the possibility to further adapt them to their likings. With a few clicks, online shoppers can configure the 3D model of the product in real-time.
They are able to select from several customization options: Attributes and colors of the piece of furniture can be chosen, details like size and texture specified. Within the sculpturing process, the user gets full price transparency: at each stage, they know what exactly they’re paying for and won’t be surprised at the end.
With individual product sales, only the products consumers designed and ordered will be produced - no more excess production due to misinterpreting consumer statistics or changed demand preferences. This saves resources and shipping costs. At the same time, high product-adaptability poses a safe bet in the constantly changing environment we have to navigate in.
Benefits of product customization
The public interest for customization is increasing - and so are the people willing to pay more for a personalized product, according to a US consumer behavior survey by Deloitte. Even though the data is distinctly pointing into the future, only a percentile of online shops already followed the call - which gives them an enormous advantage over their competitors.
Aside from competitive advantages, implementing customization and personalization options via a life 3D configurator in your online shop comes with an abundance of additional benefits:
- Adds value and creates a unique customer experience: 3D customization is rare due to difficulties in implementation.
- Inspires imagination: users can visualize the products more easily after interacting with them.
- Supports selective attention: the products displayed in an online shop aren’t overlooked: users spend several minutes of exclusive interaction with an item.
- Reduces information overload: the simple Roomle surface offers a clean environment focusing on what’s important.
- Supports the decision-making process: if a product is able to be mold to fit the exact desire of the customers, they’re much more likely to buy it in the end, increasing e-commerce sales.
- Gives customers control: after adapting and personalizing, clients know exactly what they’re being sold - and how much they will pay for it.
The Roomle Configurator
Roomle tried to make the 3D configuration process as customer-friendly as possible. With a vast amount of different customization options and a clean interface, the application gives a wide spectrum of adaptability and professionalism.
3D configuration should be utilizable to people without an IT degree. Thus the surface has to be well-arranged and self-explanatory. Both at home and on the tube - no matter on which device the configurator is accessed, the responsive design makes it even more adaptable and easy-to-use.
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If time is scarce and the user isn’t done with the personalization yet, the model can be easily saved as a draft as well. Roomle is an application for independent customers to furnish their homes, but also for B2B: they open up the possibility to sell exactly what the customers demand. With an easy-implementable code and the possibility to adapt the configurator to the brand colors, offering personalized products becomes simple.
Challenges in achieving e-Commerce customization
Innovation comes with challenges as well: other online shops are also constantly on the hunt for improvement. In an age where new and innovative technology is as affordable as ever, it is crucial to keep up. Especially in eCommerce, where competition exists on a global scale.
In this century, pretty much everyone is able to set up an online shop and sell something. Online shop host services exist in abundance: neither programming skills nor an own server is needed. That’s the reason shops now widely bet on offering their customers an unique shopping experience and enhancing their user handling to keep competition at bay.
Coming up with your own customization program occupies an increasing amount of resources: programmers, designers, and conceptionists have to be hired and paid. This takes time and money and may as well be already outdated as soon as the job is done. It’s much more resource-efficient to take advantage of an already existing program and implement it in your shopping solution.
Often tied to a fixed webshop solution, not every program is able to be seamlessly implemented in your shop. They often come with a change in online shop hosts as well, which bears extra costs. Or configuration data is outdated.
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Roomle offers a cloud-based and versatile 3D configuration program, which is able to be implemented in every online shopping host service since it is API-based and widely compatible. It’s an unique ready-to-use solution for your business.
Personalization is the way to move forward
In a world of endless product supply, the worth of uniqueness and personalization increases. Through the simple implementation process of 3D configurators, customers get the chance to design their own dream products, perfectly matching their needs and aesthetical requirements.
3D customization technology will benefit e-commerce sales and customer satisfaction on a wide scale. Individual product sales will shape the future of online shops - offering to go the extra mile for their customers.
The target audience is interested in product customization - they want the luxury of being able to influence the production process. After all, they’re the ones who know best what they desire. Translating needs into an end product is an option made possible through 3D configuration, which easily communicates the exact customer’s needs.