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How 10 E‑Commerce Brands Use Personalization to Stand Out

Mass Customization

Trending customizable products
Mass Customization

Best Customizable Products To Sell Online in 2024

It’s common knowledge now. Shoppers don’t just want the same old buying experience anymore. They’re looking for something special, made just for them. This is where the magic of product customization in e-commerce steps in. How do you make shoppers happy? Let them design their dream product! Here comes an important question for those thinking about adding personalized items to their online store. What customizable products do customers really want? What are some awesome ideas for customized products that you can bring to your online shop? You’re in the right place to find out! Today, we’re going to show you some of the coolest, most popular customizable products out there. These are the ones that will definitely help you get more sales. But first, let’s quickly dive into the basics of product customization. Are you sure you know all about it? What is Product Personalization in e-commerce? In its most basic form, product customization is simply enabling customers to personalize a product according to their needs and tastes. Essentially, it’s when businesses sell personalized promotional items, allowing shoppers to create their dream products by choosing from a variety of designs, colors, elements, and more. Product customization for e-commerce aims to deliver unique tailored customer experiences that meet the growing expectations of consumers. Today’s customers not only enjoy but expect the ability to customize their purchases. They prefer shopping with brands that provide options to personalize products. But don’t just take our word for it – here are some significant stats from the world of product customization: What are the benefits of selling customizable products? There is a reason many e-commerce store owners are implementing product customizers on their websites. Let’s find out together what the main benefits of product personalization in e-commerce are and why you need to sell custom products now: One of the obvious benefits of selling customizable products is increased sales. According to recent Deloitte research, 36% of consumers prefer to purchase customized products, and 20% of consumers are willing to pay up to 20% more for custom products. This results in repeat purchases and an increase in sales for e-commerce stores. Imagine giving customers the possibility to design their personalized gifts or items. Isn’t that the ultimate Shopping Experience? By offering product customization, you’re investing in your customers’ experiences. Customers love personalized experiences. If you can help them customize their products, you’ll have won their hearts. This often results in increased loyalty and brand advocacy.  Studying your customers’ buying habits will give you better insights into their likes and preferences. And to grow your sales, understanding your customers is paramount. Giving customers the chance to create their custom designed products, you’ll get to know what they like or dislike and what they’re looking for. You can then use this information to improve your product offerings and grow sales.  The e-commerce landscape has become very competitive in today’s world. Offering customizable products can help you stay ahead of the competition, as consumers prefer to shop with brands that offer personalized products. By letting customers create what they want, you can enhance your Brand Image, creating a new premium experience. 5+1 trending custom product examples Many of today’s leading retailers feature personalized and customized products on their websites. Here’s a detailed list of the most popular categories of custom products, the ones that customers are actively seeking and are likely to purchase online: Custom packaging, cards, custom boxes: printed products are likely the most common examples of mass customization. Consider the option of adding a customer’s name or photos to packaging, or even to a t-shirt. The Web-to-Print business is closely linked to the world of personalization. Think about all the promotional items with logos or custom merchandising a company can create and sell on its website thanks to product customization. Customers can select their products and customize them with anything they want. Another sector closely tied to the world of customization is fashion. Think printed custom t-shirts, made-to-order luxury bags (with customers choosing materials and finishes), and custom shoes. In the luxury world, customization means quality, and people love tailored products and high-quality items. Custom bracelets, rings and sunglasses are the most lovely customized product examples for customers. Think about gifts for partners or family members. How wonderful would it be to surprise someone with an engraved necklace or bracelet? Customers are actively looking for these kinds of products and a jewelry customizer is what you need! Personalized wine labels, bottles, and custom can labels are becoming increasingly popular in the food and beverage industry. Why you need a label customizer? Because personalization allows brands to differentiate themselves and create a premium perception of their products. Gadgets and gifts are undoubtedly one of the markets most closely linked to personalization. Think about a custom mug, a custom canvas, a custom pen, or a custom phone case. Personalization has become a key player in the world of gifts, and this makes it the perfect time for those in this market to implement it. Top Brands already selling custom products (and enhancing their performance) Here are some examples of brands that have taken the product customization game to the next level, providing exceptional customer experiences and growing sales: When you hear product personalization, Coca-Cola is the first name that comes to mind. The company created much buzz with its “Share a Coke” campaign.  The campaign started in Australia and consisted of some of Australia’s common first names, like Kylie and Luke. This made Coca-Cola very popular, with some even considering it a “household name.” The company then expanded its campaign to countries globally and saw significant growth in sales. Research shows that an overwhelming 1.25 million teens tried a Coke during the campaign. In the US alone, Coca-Cola sales grew by 11% in the summer.  Starbucks is another big-name company reaping the benefits of selling customizable products. The company allows customers to choose exactly how they want their drinks, which customers can do right within the Starbucks app. A real game-changing

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Custom pack
Mass Customization

Unboxing Success: Key Benefits of Custom Product Packaging

The days of packaging your products in unlabeled boxes and shipping them to customers are long gone. In today’s competitive business world, first impressions matter!  And a great first impression starts with product packaging. The number of brands opting for custom product packaging has grown significantly over the past few years. The reason? Customized product packaging attracts customers in big ways.  Studies show that an overwhelming 81% of consumers have tried a product because its packaging caught their eye. Better still, 52% of customers have switched brands because of new packaging. So, if you’re not giving your product packaging the attention it deserves, you’re losing a lot to the competition.  Custom packaging for products is a cost-effective way to wow your customers and leave a lasting impression. It allows brands to achieve exclusivity in the market with a distinctive Customer Experience.  In this brief article, we’ll discuss the importance of personalizing product packaging, including its benefits and some sustainable custom packaging options you can try out for your business.  What is Custom Product Packaging? Custom packaging refers to the packaging of products in a unique way tailored from scratch around a company’s specific needs rather than using standard boxes.  This type of packaging involves several processes, such as design, engineering, and mockup to ensure custom packaging fulfils its objectives. The packaging process may include modifying the package’s size, shape, material, color, style, varnish, and other specifications. The Importance of Custom Boxes in Product Presentation Design is a key factor in product packaging. How many times have you stopped to check a product because its packaging caught your attention? That’s the power of quality packaging design.  A good packaging design sets the stage for the product’s success. As mentioned, customers are attracted to products with quality packaging. The visual presence depicts not only the quality of the product but also suggests a warm personality – whether it’s quirky, charming or authentic. Another reason to give importance to packaging design is product differentiation. The shape and the material used in product design can be the differentiating factor – helping the product stand out in the competition. Think about sustainable boxes, it’s a great example of brand differentiator! How Packaging Impacts Customer Perception Good packaging influences consumer buying behavior.  If a product is packaged in a plain, old, and/or oversized box, this may give the consumer bad vibes about the product. But if the same product is packaged in a custom box with logo, brand colors and an inspiring description, it may compel the consumer to buy the item. In this case, the customer’s perception of the product will be positive, judging by how well it’s packaged.  Personalized Shipping Boxes: The Importance of Materials When you’re looking to package a product, one of the choices you’ll have to make is the packaging material to use. Essentially, there are different types of packaging materials – from cardboard boxes to plastics and foil. But which one should you use? Here are the most commonly used packaging materials: Deciding on the right packaging material to use is critical to successfully selling and distributing your products.  How To Choose Top Materials? Best Practices Since packaging materials play a critical role in protecting products, care should be taken when choosing the right material to use.  As with any other product, price is a primary concern. However, your choice shouldn’t be only based on price, especially since the deliberation process needs to consider transportation, storage, and safe delivery of the product to your customers.  Some products may need more protection than others, in which case you may need tougher packaging materials. Look for the following qualities in a packaging material before making the final decision: In addition to these factors, the material you choose should be easy (and cost-effective) to print product and brand information. Sustainable and Eco-friendly Packaging Options Consumers are increasingly becoming more environmentally conscious about their carbon footprint and more and more organizations are ditching conventional packaging materials in favor of environmentally-friendly materials. Therefore, an eco-friendly packaging solution can help you elevate your brand.  Some of the benefits of opting for an eco-friendly packing option include. To help your business meet the growing consumer demands, here are some eco-friendly packaging materials you could use for your packaging needs: Best Practices for Personalizing Custom Product Packages Custom packaging is one of the best ways to enhance Customer Experience and build brand loyalty. But for the best results, you’ll need to get it the right first time. So, let’s briefly share some practices you need to follow for effective custom printed boxes: Why Your Brand Should Go For Custom Packaging? Today’s successful businesses have one thing in common: they’ve mastered the art of Product Customization to improve their Customers’ Shopping Experience. If you want your business to stand tall among the competition, you’ll need to start offering custom packaging and products. Doing so can bring many benefits to your business, including: So, custom packaging can be a game-changer for small businesses looking to establish a footing in the industry and achieve a competitive edge. Smooth Packaging Personalization Today: Try Zakeke! Embarking on the journey of offering custom boxes with your logo or with your customers’ photos in your e-commerce store doesn’t have to be daunting. With the right box customizer tool, setting up a personalization feature is straightforward and quick. Enter Zakeke, your go-to for hassle-free integration of product customization. This efficient plug-in can be added to your platform in under 10 minutes, offering a cost-effective solution for any business size. Zakeke’s Visual Product Customizer enhances the Shopping Experience, allowing your customers to craft their ideal packaging on a versatile and user-friendly interface. It provides unlimited creative freedom, from selecting colors to adding unique texts and images, all while you retain control over the customization parameters. What’s more, Zakeke streamlines your workflow. As customers finalize their designs, you receive a high-resolution, print-ready file, bypassing the need for complex communications or manual design efforts. Compatible with major e-commerce

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Average ecommerce conversion rate
Industry Trends

How to Increase Your Average eCommerce Conversion Rate with Customization

The success of any eCommerce business depends on its ability to convert visitors into customers. You can significantly increase your average conversion rate and maximize sales with the right strategies and tactics.  There are many strategies for boosting your ecommerce average conversion rate. Today we want to focus our attention on product customization – Did you know that by allowing your customers to customize their products according to their needs, you can create a unique customer experience that drives them down the purchase funnel faster? Let’s dive in to discover how to increase your average eCommerce conversion rate with customization (but not only!) and what steps you should take to get the best results from your store. What is the average conversion rate for ecommerce? The ecommerce conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your online store who take a desired action, such as purchasing a product. Understanding an optimal conversion rate and how it compares to your own can help ecommerce sites by guiding them on where they need to improve and where they may currently be lacking in their ecommerce processes. But making an action doesn’t mean only purchase a product. Let’s find out what are the other typical conversions in an ecommerce store: If you’re wondering how to reach a good conversion rate for e-commerce, maybe you have to think about optimizing all these metrics. Let’s find out how! Why is conversion rate optimization important? Achieving a normal conversion rate for ecommerce is crucial for any business seeking to increase its digital sales and reach more customers: Ultimately, increasing one’s ecommerce conversion rates requires active effort, but when done right leads to increased profitability for online retailers who take advantage of this powerful metric for growth purposes. How is the ecommerce conversion rate calculated? The formula for calculating the ecommerce conversion rate is relatively simple: (Number of Conversions / Total visitors) X 100 For example, if you had 1000 visitors and 25 sales, then your conversion rate would be 2.5%. This percentage indicates how many people have completed a desired action (in this case, making a purchase) on your website compared to the total amount of traffic you’ve received. The advice is to constantly monitor your average ecommerce conversion rate to understand the performance of your store. How can you do it? You could monitor the conversion rate on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, adjusting and adapting your strategies based on the results. Ecommerce conversion rate benchmarks An essential aspect of tracking the average e-commerce conversion rate is understanding what constitutes an optimal rate for online stores. Generally speaking, the average e-commerce conversion rates for ecommerce are around 2.5-3%. Of course, many factors go into a higher or lower rate, but typically if you find yourself at 3% or above, you are ready to tackle more advanced conversion rate tactics. While there is no single “right” answer when it comes to measuring success concerning ecommerce performance metrics, having benchmarks explicitly related to your industry can offer valuable insights into how well (or not so well) you are doing compared with competitors in terms of attracting new customers and increasing sales on your website or app store platform(s). Average ecommerce conversion rate per Industry If you are looking for a benchmark to measure the performance of your ecommerce, here are some good conversion rates according to the analysis by Dynamic Yeld: And more, here is an infographic from TIDIO’s study with the average conversion rate across industries in Q4, 2022: Additional metrics to measure e-commerce conversions In addition to examining industry standards, several other key metrics should be tracked to gain a deeper insight into customer behaviour and preferences. These include: The bounce rate shows how many people leave a website after looking at just one page. This is not good because it means that visitors are not staying long enough to find what they need. If the bounce rate is high, people are not finding what they want on that website and are leaving right away. Exit rate and bounce rate are similar. However, the exit rate reveals how many visitors leave your website after viewing a specific page, while the latter indicates those who depart from any page without engaging. A very high exit rate on one of your pages could suggest that it needs to be optimized to retain more visitors. By striving for a lower exit rate, you can aim to maximize engagement and ultimately drive conversions! Want to draw more people to your website and get them to take action? Focus on boosting your click-through rate! This metric reveals the number of individuals who followed a link from an ad or email, heading straight for your site. AdWords optimization and email marketing campaigns can be tailored around increasing click-throughs—and even social media engagement. When assessing user engagement, average session duration is a key metric to measure. A high bounce rate signals that your visitors are not engaging with your site for long enough periods of time and thus cannot be appropriately converted into customers. Cart abandon rates measure the number of shoppers starting but not finishing their shopping journey. High cart abandonment can reveal a flaw in your shopping experience or indicate that shoppers are leaving to do further research before purchasing. Knowing your abandoned cart rate can help you identify potential areas for improvement and make the necessary changes to reduce abandonment. By monitoring these additional factors, merchants can better understand why customers may be dropping off during checkout, allowing them to make changes that improve user experience — ultimately leading to increased conversions over time. How to increase your ecommerce conversion rate Now that you understand the mechanics behind measuring ecommerce success, here are 5 tips to use those metrics to increase your average ecommerce conversion rate: An optimized website should be fast and intuitive to navigate, or customers will leave for a better experience elsewhere. Making sure your website loads quickly and runs smoothly is essential, as

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Etsy Print on Demand customizer
Mass Customization

How to choose the best Etsy Print On Demand solution for your store

Print On Demand (POD) is one of the most famous business models for merchants working with Web-to-Print. It allows online stores and independent sellers to sell custom products without the need for physical inventory.  This interest in POD services has led to an increase in POD applications on the market, making it difficult to choose the right one to integrate with each online marketplace or e-commerce platform.  In this article, we focus on the Etsy marketplace finding the best Etsy Print On Demand solutions that allow merchants to expand their offerings of custom products and grow their businesses quickly and easily. What is the Print On Demand business and how does it work? Before discovering how to choose the best Etsy Print On Demand provider, you should understand how the POD business works. As we have already mentioned, the Print On Demand model allows merchants to sell personalized products on Etsy and other online marketplaces or e-commerce without having to keep inventory or manage production. How does it work? Simply choose a POD provider/partner who handles all product production and shipping directly to customers. When choosing, it’s crucial to consider whether the service can integrate seamlessly with the e-commerce or marketplace platform in question, in this case, Etsy. What products can you sell? The choice is extremely wide, ranging from mugs to t-shirts, mobile phone covers to sports accessories. Just create a personalized product and list it within the Etsy marketplace. Once a customer places an order, the provider earns a fee on each product sold, while the merchant receives the other portion of the sale price. Print On Demand benefits Why use a Print On Demand service on Etsy? There are several benefits, some of which include: How to choose the best Print On Demand Etsy solution As we have already mentioned, there are several Print On Demand companies and services for Etsy on the market – how to choose the best one? Here are the main decision-making values to take into account: The quality of products is a crucial factor when selecting the best Etsy Print On Demand solution. Some POD services offer free product samples or mockups before placing an order, which is a good feature to evaluate product quality. When choosing the best Etsy Print On Demand solution, you should consider that the service integrates seamlessly with your platform (as well as other third-party services). Not all POD services have the same level of integration with Etsy, so you should check if the service has a native integration or requires a third-party integration tool. A good integration allows you to automate your order fulfilment process and reduce manual tasks. It’s crucial to choose a POD supplier that offers quality customer service to avoid problems, particularly during the setup and onboarding stage. Additionally, you should check if the service has a knowledge base or support channel where you can find answers independently. Best Etsy POD solution: selection guide How to start a Print On Demand business on Etsy? Here’s a selection of the best POD services for Etsy stores: Printful is currently the leading Print On Demand platform on the market, providing over 300 custom products (you can find apparel, accessories, home decor, etc.). Selling on Etsy is pretty straightforward. There are no monthly subscription fees for sellers: there are applied fees only when a customer places an order on the Etsy store. Printful also integrates seamlessly with Amazon, as well as the most common e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce. Additionally, the service offers shipping through international well-known partners like UPS and DHL. Printify is a versatile POD platform offering a particularly wide range of products, including over 600 items such as apparel, fashion accessories, and homeware products.  The Mock-up generator allows for previewing products. Printify provides worldwide delivery and integrates well with marketplaces such as Etsy and eBay, as well as e-commerce platforms like Wix and WooCommerce.  Like Printful, there are no membership fees, with fees only being charged on actual product sales. Printify also has a quality Customer Support Team. Teelaunch is a POD platform specializing in custom products such as mugs, phone cases, and canvases. This is a particularly good Etsy Print On Demand service for independent sellers looking to sell custom apparel or clothing.  The service is straightforward to use and integrates seamlessly with both Etsy and Shopify. Teelaunch offers efficient and speedy worldwide shipping, as well as an available Customer Support Team.  Again, there are no fixed affiliation costs, with fees only being applied to actual sales, depending on the product, shipping, and customization options. Gooten is another recommended POD platform for Etsy sellers, offering multiple customization options (with text and images chosen directly by the merchant) for nearly 150 products.  Gooten enables users to create their own personalizations, as well as access those created by other artists, and the service provides a mockup generator for previewing customized products.  Gooten integrates seamlessly with Etsy, Shopify, and WooCommerce, and as with the other services, there are no fixed costs, only costs tied to the products sold. The best Visual Product Customizer for Web-to-Print Product customization will probably remain popular for some time and any e-commerce or online seller should consider implementing a product customization solution. Additionally, to make the service effective and reduce returns, it’s important to provide a preview of the customized product, showing the customer the final result. But there is an even more innovative solution for those who want to sell customized products on Etsy: Zakeke Visual Product Customizer. With Zakeke, you can offer customers the opportunity to independently customize their products with unlimited customization options and the ability to see a real-time 3D preview of the final product before purchasing it. Zakeke is much more than a Product Customizer. Zakeke is a platform that helps online businesses to grow and increase sales through the use of product customization, 3D configuration, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Try-On. It integrates seamlessly (Plug&Play) with the most common e-commerce platforms and marketplaces such as

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Personalization in ecommerce
Mass Customization

What are the main benefits of personalization in eCommerce?

As the shift to eCommerce intensifies across the globe, more and more businesses are looking to provide personalized eCommerce experiences. The reason? A study by McKinsey has shown that 78% of shoppers in 2021 chose to pay more for brands which provide custom services or personalized experiences. What do these eCommerce personalization trends tell us? Personalization should be an integral part of your eCommerce marketing strategy. What are the benefits of personalization in eCommerce? When used efficiently, it can increase customer interactions with your brand, boost conversions and give you a better understanding of your customers.  But what exactly is personalization in eCommerce, and why should you care? In this article, we’ll delve into the crux of personalization in eCommerce and outline all the benefits that can accrue to your business when you provide personalized experiences. What is eCommerce personalization? Before we dive into the benefits of eCommerce personalization, let’s first define it.  Ecommerce personalization is simply creating a personalized customer experience. Personalization can take many forms:  8 benefits of personalization in eCommerce By leveraging eCommerce personalization, you can enjoy the following benefits. 1. Increased Conversions and Sales A recent Demand Gen study found that leads nurtured with targeted content produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities.  Personalization helps your eCommerce to better target prospects and nurture them well to convert them into sales. Through personalization, you’re helping your customers cut through the clutter and find exactly what they’re looking for.  For instance, a personalized home page helps reduce the bounce rate. That’s because the page has been curated according to the shopper’s preferences or buying habits, which increases engagement and conversions. In addition, offering customers the opportunity to create custom products helps to increase sales. Customized products allow customers to perceive a higher value and eliminate traditional price uncertainties. 2. Improved Customer Experience Personalized product recommendations, offers, and promotions help customers narrow down their choices. Studies show that nearly 40% of shoppers have left an online store because they were overwhelmed by too many options.  If you offer a wide variety of products catering to different demographics and target groups, designing your website in a way that allows customers to filter content and get curated recommendations can increase their shopping experience. Or, in addition, offering customers the possibility to customize their products and create them exactly as they want enables them to improve the Customer Experience by making it interactive and innovative. 3. Improved Customer Loyalty Ecommerce personalization improves Customer Loyalty. By showing your customers you care about their needs and going the extra mile to provide personalized offers or products, you’ll improve their shopping experience. And better Customer Experience leads to Brand Loyalty.  Satisfied customers will not only repeat purchases but also recommend your business to their friends.  4. Increased average order size Providing personalized experiences leads customers to purchase more every time they visit your website. How does it happen? Personalization displays the items customers love based on their past purchases and search history. For example, a customer looking to purchase a PlayStation 5 can end up buying controllers, a PS5 bag, and a few games.  Before directing the shopper to the checkout page, you can always throw in a few recommendations based on what they’ve put in the cart.  5. A better understanding of your customers The customers’ data collected on your eCommerce site provides valuable insights into your customers’ behaviour-product preferences, buying habits, motivation, etc.  You can use these insights to revamp your personalization strategies and serve your customers better. Customer insights can also help you determine which products to discontinue and/or restock in bulk. 6. A competitive advantage With the stiff competition in the eCommerce space, the one thing that can truly set your website apart is the experience you offer your customers.  Ecommerce personalization helps you achieve just that. Customers can sometimes change their minds in the blink of an eye. However, if you provide a personalized experience they can’t find elsewhere, they’re more likely to stick around and become your brand advocates.  7. Increased Engagement Many shoppers feel frustrated when an eCommerce website is not personalized. But if a website is personalized and shoppers can interact with it better, they’ll naturally want to spend more time on it.  In other words, customers will engage more with a website that offers product customization or Customer Experience personalization.  For instance, giving the customer the possibility to customize a product and create it from scratch according to his needs makes the Shopping Experience interactive and makes the customer feel at the centre of attention. 8. More traffic to your store When you provide personalized experiences to your customers, they’ll automatically want to spend more time on your website and visit it frequently.  If your website is personalized in a way that piques buyers’ interest, you’ll not only experience a spike in traffic but conversions too. Ecommerce personalization: let’s start with Product Customizer software Now that we know what are the main benefits of personalization in eCommerce, it’s easy to understand why offering a personalized experience is the best way to increase sales and stay competitive in today’s fast-paced business environment.  How to start offering a custom Shopping Experience? Let’s start with Product Customizer Software! Offering customers the ability to create and customize their products with real-time visualization allows your eCommerce to build a better Customer Experience, improve Customer Satisfaction and boost sales. You can start trying our Zakeke, our eCommerce Visual Product Customizer. Zakeke helps eCommerce businesses scale up their business by building an innovative and interactive Shopping Experience for consumers thanks to 2D customization, 3D visualization and Augmented Reality. How to start? Quite simply, Zakeke is a plug-in and it integrates seamlessly with all leading eCommerce platforms. Also, setup becomes even easier with the help of the Support Team and the ability to book a free Demo to understand which of our platform’s features best meet your needs.

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Product Visualization ecommerce
3D Configuration

How a better Product Visualization can improve Customer Experience

Even though the stay-at-home orders and mandatory nationwide isolation have subsided, many of the habits and practices that society adopted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown every sign of sticking around. One example of this is the increased popularization of online shopping and e-commerce.  While there are people who are happy to be able to go back to a store to buy their groceries or other essentials, there is a large group of people who are still all-in on the convenience of having their products delivered right to their doors.  Because of this, many businesses are finding themselves needing to constantly adopt new technologies and techniques that make their online websites easier to navigate and more engaging for their customers. This is where the importance of product visualization comes in. The importance of improving Customer Experience Think about it this way, if your business’s previous selling point was that it was the local retailer and it was easy and convenient for our customers to get to, find their items, and go home, shopping at home has taken away this selling point for your business. Now consumers can shop from anywhere and have things delivered to them.  So, how are you going to get them to shop with you rather than your competitors online? Simple. Focus on your customers themselves. Work on creating a more unique and memorable customer experience. This will separate you from your competitors and increase the likelihood of maintaining your customer loyalty. But how can you do this? In a brick-and-mortar store, customers are able to inspect products from multiple angles and make more informed decisions about whether or not they want to make a purchase. This can be difficult to do online — especially if all a customer has to use are a few static pictures and – maybe – a size guide. One incredibly useful tool that you can use is to offer more detailed product visualization options for your products.  The importance of Product Visualization While artistically photographed 2-dimensional images of your products may be a good way to initially grab the attention of a customer, if this is the only visualization you are offering, your customer may be filled with more questions than answers. This can leave them hesitant to actually make a purchase — which is not the goal. So, how can you improve your customers’ confidence in your product and in their purchasing decisions? Offering a 3D visualization of an object where customers can easily view, zoom in, rotate, and otherwise interact with the object in a more meaningful way can be an incredible boost to the customer experience and allow your customers to feel much more comfortable making a purchase. Humans interact with the world in 3-dimensions, so by offering 3D and non-static views of your products, your customers will be able to more intuitively understand what they are and what they are going to actually look like when they get them delivered. A platform like Zakeke can help you to create this fully customized and engaging product experience that allows your customers to easily interact with and inspect your products more like they would be able to do in a traditional brick-and-mortar store (only better because they can do it from the comfort of their own homes). Zakeke software can easily integrate into your existing workflows, and it works seamlessly with popular e-commerce platforms — like Shopify and WooCommerce. What are the benefits of 3D Product Visualization? There are a number of benefits of 3D product visualization that your business can use to ultimately increase your sales and customer retention: For this reason, many businesses are finding that 3D visualization companies, like Zakeke, can be an essential tool moving forward in the continually competitive online marketplace. How to do 3D Product Rendering The word “rendering” comes from art. In the art world, a painter would “render” a face (or another painting subject) which means filling in the details that make the 2-dimensional painting look like a real face — this would be adding shadows, highlights, and otherwise making the face look like a face and not just a series of skin-toned blobs on a canvas. In software, the process is quite similar to the art process. You take the basic model of your product (3-dimensional model), and you start bringing in those details that make the image look less like a series of points and flat surfaces and more like whatever product you are offering your customers.  Oftentimes, without going through the rendering process, your customer may not know what to make of a 3D model, so not only does rendering make a product visualization more appealing to your customers (thus increasing their desire to purchase it), it can also be essential to making your product visualization understandable. Not only visualization: benefits of 3D Product Configurator What is a 3D product configurator, and what does this type of technology do for your business? Some of the benefits of 3D product visualization for e-commerce stated above require the use of a 3D product configurator to work. Namely, any type of e-commerce customization options that you want to offer your customers will require the use of one of these configurator tools.  This is because a 3D product configurator is a piece of interactive software that allows you to customize a product — based on the available configuration (or customization) options — online. In other words, if you are selling home goods and you have a kitchen cabinet that can come in different types of wood, different finishes, and maybe even have different numbers of shelves or drawers, you could use a 3D product configurator to allow your customer to create the cabinet exactly as they want it to look. This product configurator will also allow your customers to be able to see the product from all angles, zoom in, and view details. This can help them feel much more confident about their purchase and lead to fewer

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zakeke shopware product customizer
Mass Customization

Sell customizable products on Shopware with Zakeke

Today we are pleased to announce the release of the integration of Zakeke with Shopware, one of the most important player in the eCommerce industry. Shopware is a leading digital commerce system and used by some of the largest brands, retailers and manufacturers across B2C, D2C and B2B industries, including Philips, Jägermeister and Aston Martin. Shopware’s open commerce platform gives its customers the freedom to quickly and easily realise their growth potential – with greater flexibility to deal with complex challenges. Today, merchants all around the world rely on Shopware solutions – from start-ups to enterprises – generating a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of close to USD 20 billion in 2021. From its headquarters in Schöppingen, Germany, and its US office in New York City, Shopware employs 400 people and relies on a global network of 1,200 sales, technology and solution partners. A community with hundreds of thousands of members gives customers access to over 5,000 extensions and certified professional support. Through continuously high investments in research and development, Shopware is a leading driver of innovation in digital commerce. Now, you can personalize your products in a simpler and more effective way on Shopware, thanks to Zakeke. You can increase your sales, reduce product returns and automate your internal processes with our cutting-edge visual personalization tools. Shopware merchants will join the many satisfied sellers who already use Zakeke to sell personalized products around the world. Buyers will be able to view and edit customizable products using Zakeke’s AR and 3D technology. Product customization has huge advantages for your business: What you can do with Zakeke? Zakeke is a cutting-edge tool for Visual Product Customization. However, it is not just that. Zakeke is more than just visual customization. It is a business partner that enhances your brand offer and simplifies your internal processes. Possibilities are endless. Visit our demo to learn more or Start a free trial now! Need more info? Our friendly team is here for you, book a demo with our experts here and see the installation process in this guide

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Product Customization: The Secret to Retaining your Customers for Life

In this guide, we’ll discuss product customization in detail and explain the benefits it can bring to your business. But first, let’s get down to the basics.  Who won’t love a personal touch in the products they order? In today’s competitive world, consumers expect brands to tailor their products to meet the customers’ needs. The demand for customized products has reached sky-high in recent times.  A decade ago, this was primarily limited to mugs and mobile cases, where people used to have their photos printed on their mobile cases. Today, product customization has become the buzzword of the 21st century.  In the online world, e-commerce websites will adapt their pages based on the customer’s buyer behavior. Even the shows you watch on streaming services, like Netflix, are personalized based on your search and watch history.  Brick-and-mortar stores aren’t left behind, either.  More and more retailers are increasingly offering the same experience, where consumers can buy products specifically customized for them. The reason? Product customization leads to more sales and stronger brand-employee relationships. In a recent study by Deloitte, 36% of shoppers said they covet customized products. Interestingly, 1 in 5 of these shoppers are willing to pay 20% more to have products customized for them.  What Is Product Customization? Product customization is the process of delivering goods that have their key features and elements altered specifically to meet the buyer’s needs.  For example, a shoe company can allow a mountaineer to order a one-of-a-kind shoe ideal for their mountain climbing needs. Customers can approach the shoe retailer via their website, design the shoe they want, and make the order online.  A perfect example of product customization in real life can be seen in how the Fender company handles online guitar sales.  Fender, a California-based musical instruments company, provides many different options for each part of their guitars for customers to choose from. Customers can choose the color, body material, tuners, neck shape, fingerboard options, and more depending on their preferences. Customizing designs to user preferences leads to a better user experience and increased sales.  Product customization opens a world of endless possibilities for many industries, especially the apparel industry, allowing customers to experiment with various fabrics, designs, colors, and more before any product is made.  How Does It Differ from Personalization? The terms “customization” and “personalization” are often used interchangeably. And it makes sense because both practices aim to empower shoppers to create the exact product they desire, with confidence. However, the terms aren’t the same.  Product customization involves delivering goods that have their design, color, and other elements altered to meet customer preferences. In customization, the company provides a selection of options for customers to choose from.  Product personalization, on the other hand, takes things up a notch by inviting customers to embellish products with their own content. This can take the form of a personalized text or image, but there’s no limit to how you can personalize your products.  Personalization is about the seller tailoring the product to meet consumer needs but in a way that doesn’t require sophisticated manufacturing facilities. It’s all about making the shopper feel special by offering a few tweaks to the products in a way that differentiates the product from the mass-produced items.  Examples of personalization include printing a photograph on a standard manufactured product, sewing a patch, or embroidering a user-specific text on the product.  Personalization provides a unique shopping experience that drives sales and repeat business. Deloitte found that offering personalized products increases sales by as much as 30%.   A product can be personalized, customized, or both. Either way, the customer uses what’s called a product customizer or configurator. A product customizer is basically software integrated within a website that allows customers to visualize and select their options.  What about Product Configuration? Product configuration is simply the act of selecting your options, which is offered at a basic level by most e-commerce platforms.  You can improve customer experience by integrating a product customizer that offers advanced features like augmented reality (AR) and 3D visualization.  Benefits of Product Customization There are many reasons that make product customization a must-have tool for retailers. Here, we’ll look at the benefits e-commerce brands can enjoy from product customization. 1. Appeal to a Growing Audience As mentioned, 36% of shoppers covet customized products. With almost half of your customers yearning for customized experiences, providing a product customizer on your site can do wonders for your business.  Customizing a product adds a personal touch to it. When customers design products to their liking, the end product isn’t just the same as the mass-produced items. Customization adds a sentimental value to the product, whether they’re designing it for themselves or someone else.  2. Generate More Sales and Profits One of the obvious benefits you get from product customization is an increase in sales.  First, customers love differentiated products. Giving them the option to choose their desired designs, colors, and other elements builds trust, which ultimately leads to brand advocacy.  Secondly, customers are willing to pay extra for customized products.  As Deloitte found, 1 in 5 customers wouldn’t mind paying an extra 20% to have the products customized to their preferences. This leads to increased revenue and profits. 3. You Gain a Competitive Advantage The global e-commerce market is huge, with 1.8 million retailers operating in the US and contributing a staggering $861 billion to the US economy.  How can you stand out in such a competitive marketplace?  One way is to adopt product customization.  With a product customizer that provides unique customer experiences that shoppers won’t elsewhere, you’ll definitely set yourself apart from the competition.  Your store will stand out from others, and shoppers will recommend your brand for the unique experience. Additionally, you can charge an additional mark-up for offering a customized experience. Users are more likely to pay more since they’re emotionally invested in the designs that match their tastes and preferences.  4. Better Customer Insights Another benefit you get from implementing product customization for

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printing customization
Mass Customization

A Guide to Understanding Web to Print & Visual Customization

In this post, we’ll introduce you to web-to-print technology and visual customization. We’ll also explain how these technologies work and their benefits to your business.  The explosive expansion of the internet has massively contributed to the growth of e-commerce as a retail platform for many goods and services worldwide.  Online shopping has risen dramatically, given that consumers can shop 24/7 and access a wide variety of goods and services while enjoying shopping in the comfort of their homes.  So far, 69% of Americans have shopped online, and e-commerce’s share of total retail sales is projected to rise from 22.1% in 2022 to 23.4% in 2023.  That said, it isn’t surprising to see all kinds of printing orders being customized and ordered through a web-to-print solution. This technology has become the center of attention for e-commerce store owners looking to differentiate their products and reach a wider audience.  But what exactly is web-to-print, and why do you need it? What’s Web to Print? In its most basic form, web-to-print is a technology for commercial digital printing.  Also known as Web2Print, W2P, or Print e-commerce, web-to-print is a service that offers printing products and services online through e-commerce storefronts. This technology provides high-quality print-ready data for your e-commerce print service and ensures high volume print and brand consistency in all print work.  Typically, these systems receive orders, provide live estimates, accept payments, and produce print-ready artworks. From customized apparel to commercial printing to promotional materials—a wide variety of products can be customized or designed and printed on demand with the help of this technology.  Today, the global web-to-print industry is valued at $24 billion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5% to reach $30.5 billion by 2030.  How Does It Work? Generally, web-to-print technology offers customers a web portal or platform to design, choose, or customize their goods and place orders.  Lastly, you fulfill the orders by printing at your print shop. For this to work, you’ll need robust W2P product design software that easily integrates into your e-commerce storefront.  The best web2print software features an intuitive design studio that enables customers to design any e-commerce merchandise in your store. It should also automate your workflow and send you high-quality printable output files for seamless print job operations.  Benefits of Web-to-Print Solutions Web2Print technology not only automates your workflows; it also brings a slew of benefits to your business. Companies integrating web to print software can enjoy many benefits associated with this print technology, including.  1. Brand Consistency Brand identity is critical to the success of any business.  One of the ways to develop a strong (and memorable) brand identity is through print materials such as logos, brochures, business cards, etc. Maintaining consistency in colors and fonts across all your print materials becomes easy with web-to-print software.  Consumers can prepare a set of editable templates with consistent brand elements, customizable based on need, ensuring brand consistency and quality prints.  2. Cost Savings Web-to-print provides clients with the opportunity to order on demand.  Customers can choose from available designs or create new ones, easily order online, and specify the delivery time. This means that it frees you from maintaining inventory.  Additionally, W2P technology saves you on spending hiring designers because it provides product-self customization, and the entire process can be done online. Even customers with no design skills can easily customize ready-to-print templates and place orders.  For example, if a customer wants to update a business card logo, all they have to do is modify the template to include the changes and place a new order.  3. Fast Delivery The traditional print workflow is notoriously slow and time-consuming. In contrast, web-to-print is fast and requires only a few steps.  By eliminating some of the usual steps in the ordering process, you can also reduce the overall cost of printing. Clients only need to select a template, fill in their details, and download a printout instantly. Creating a pre-approved print on demand eliminates the usual approval process, significantly reducing the turnaround time.  4. Order from Anywhere The web-to-print interface allows customers to place orders any time they want and from anywhere. All a customer needs are log-in details and access to a browser.  This means you’re not restricted to one location and can place orders anywhere. A web-to-print solution is also convenient because more than one person can place orders should the other be occupied or out of the office.  5. Print More Orders Instantly With Web2Print, you can print a high volume of orders within a short period as compared to traditional printing.  Your sales team can accept orders online on behalf of your customers. Also, customers can place their orders via smartphones or desktops at any time of the day or night. This way, your storefront can process a high print volume since the process is automated. Visual Commerce: The Perfect Solution for Web-to-Print Businesses And offering W2P services isn’t enough. You need to provide a smooth and satisfying experience to the customer to encourage them to return. One way to achieve that is through 3D visualization and product customizations.  The trick is to invest in a robust product customizer for web-to-print to automate your printing business, which allows your customers to personalize your products.  A visual product customizer is a software application that enables customers to customize products directly within your e-commerce storefront. You can improve the process with augmented reality (AR) and 3D visualization solutions. These technologies let customers interact with a product and check out every detail before purchase.  Why Is Visual Customization Important? Visual customization brings many advantages to your business, including: Whether your business stocks or dropships, a visual product customizer can help it reduce costs as the products can simply be configured through a web-to-print service. But product customizers aren’t created equal.  For a product customizer to deliver a quintessential customer experience, it should possess at least one or all of these features. Sell More and Print Easier with Zakeke The success

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products customization
Mass Customization

Custom Merchandising, the way to Fulfill Your Customers’ Desires

Custom merchandising refers to the business strategy where the seller creates customized products to sell to their customers. The business of custom merchandising is booming as more online services and technology becomes available. But being a successful custom merchandiser requires knowledge of other tools, like personalized marketing and search, to reach your customers.  Today, we’ll talk about ways you can use customized products to create a new sales channel and give clients what they want. We’ll also talk a little about how setting up an effective search and using data to sell can help you ensure you give clients what customers really want.  What is custom merchandising  Custom merchandising, also known as personalization according to Gartner, adds relevance to a customer search for a product or service. When we talk about customization in ecommerce, we’re talking about services or products that can be tailored to a customer’s exact requirements or needs (like clothing, etc.) Part 1: Custom merchandising–providing personalized products customers want In the past, personalization was confined to a few common situations. A seller with a fast vendor might be able to offer t-shirts, hats or other smaller items if they weren’t too fancy. Sellers, especially smaller businesses, were restricted to a few types of product selections due to warehousing, shipping, and production constraints.  But that was yesterday. With today’s technologies, now just about any product can be customized, even by smaller businesses. Some challenges of custom merchandising  Right now, custom merchandising of products is being utilized by everyone from the smallest of artisans to large Fortune 500 companies. Today’s technologies, including 2D and 3D printers, third-party warehouse solutions, white label products, tools for automation and design, along with expanded business, marketing and ecommerce options make it easier than ever for sellers to scale their services to customer needs.  For example, here at Zakeke we offer a variety of solutions businesses can use to create their own line of custom-designed products for their customers.  Visuals matter on your custom merchandise website One problem sellers may encounter with custom merchandising is adequately providing visuals of the finished product. Buyers want to “see” and “feel” what the product will look like when it’s done. Providing a pleasing customer experience, complete with great visuals, is critical if you’re a seller.  As the Bigcommerce website notes, visual commerce is the updated, online shopping version of the brick and mortar buying experience. It leverages your brand’s best visual content with augmented reality to create a new, better online shopping experience for the customer. To help create the best online experience for customers: Use eye-catching visuals to show/communicate to customers what their finished product will look like  Tell customers what options they have for customization Create an easy-to-use website and instructions for customization Some custom merchandising successes you may have seen already Nike (custom shoes) The company has a comprehensive design interface built on their website, even allowing the customer to upload their own designs. In addition to personalized products, Nike’s customization website has a strong product education program, designed to engage and inform customers.  Etsy  One of the largest ecommerce tools for sellers of customized merchandise today may be Etsy. Etsy, a leader in the maker economy, has a robust website that makes it easy for its thousands and thousands of vendors to provide customized merchandise to customers.  (By the way, our SaaS here at Zakeke offers easy integration with Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, OpenCart, and BigCommerce in a seamless way.) MTailor Another example of a service using custom merchandising as their business model can be found in a New York Times article  on MTailor, an online clothier. The company takes advantage of innovative technology to get measurements for their designs. Their tailored clothing, designed to fit each customer’s unique body type, is created using body scans taken by the customer’s cellphone.  Part 2: Custom merchandising–using data and personalization for your sales messaging But not all business customization involves product design.  When we think about selling customized products, we should also consider marketing to match it: product recommendations given to customers when they search your website, as well as using data to tailor your customer messaging.  Relevant searches matter to customers looking for products Today, business owners and marketers rely heavily on data to provide better, more personalized shopping experiences. And they should. In fact, 53% of online shoppers believe that personalized shopping experiences are valuable, as long as privacy concerns are met.  Knowing and understanding customer needs is a big part of the personalization picture, and why using data to create customized marketing is vital. Successfully selling custom merchandising depends heavily on customer searches. As e-commerce provider Bigcommerce notes, customers are now used to robust search engines that narrow in on their needs with the simplest of key phrases; precision search engines that can almost predict what they want. According to other research, when personalization and proprietary customer data are integrated, revenue increases 6% to 10%. Perhaps that’s because those powerful ecommerce search engines really aren’t just guessing, they really know what customers want. Search is such an important tool for ecommerce that one survey shows that 68% of e-commerce leaders currently plan to make changes to their search engine functionality to get better data from their searches. Machine learning and search engines One component of many ecommerce websites is the use of machine learning . Machine learning uses algorithms or programs with access to shoppers’ data, to “learn” your customer needs through pattern recognition. Machine learning allows the search engines of online websites to take that same shopper data to identify trends, provide personalized customer recommendations or results based on the data sets. Data is your friend if you’re a seller of customized products Most ecommerce companies offer some form of tailored messaging to customers based on data gathered from previous interactions. As BCG notes, brands that don’t offer personalization in their messaging or product offers will miss out.  As digital marketing website thegood.com points out, customer data gives your business

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