Imagine you want to gift a custom-made bracelet with a heartfelt message to someone dear to you. You have little to no time to go from store to store in search of your gift and, truth be told, you do not want to waste precious time doing that.

So, you go online, google it up and you click the first result. What you get is a beautiful website withan amazing design. It is clear that they’re offering high-end products, and that’s great, but you need to know whether they create custom designs or not. After browsing through their gallery, you finally see the message.

“For custom-made designs, contact us at…”

You browse again through the pictures, but then you decide to check the second result that showed up in Google search. Another stunning website, with beautiful jewelry – exactly what you were looking for. But when you hover over the pictures, something draws your attention. You click on one of the bracelets you would like to customize and there it is – the possibility to customize it right on the spot. 

Do you want bigger or smaller pendants? Because you can have both! What color scheme would you prefer for your bracelet? What font and size for your message? Do you want italic or simple characters?

You certainly get the point, and the question “which is the website from which you’re most likely to purchase your gift?” seems a no-brainer.

And this is just a bracelet we are talking about. 

But what if it were the interior of a home you are planning to buy? Having the opportunity to browse through different sofas, chairs, rugs, and change their style and color to create your ideal design would save you not only time but also money. You would be able to mix and match the items, the styles, and the colors and keep track of your budget without too much hassle.

You would have a digital mockup of the product you want to buy, which makes it all more real.

And this is what all customers want in this day and age, whether we’re talking about large investments – like a house – or small purchases – like clothes, jewelry, or phone cases. 

Why Are We So Hooked on Product Customization?

A couple of decades ago no one was thinking of customizing their products in their online shop. They were happy if they even had an online shop with a couple of products in, and the clients were amazed at being able to buy something off the Internet.

But today we are living in 2021, and with a year like 2020 behind us, online shopping is no longer an exception or something out of the ordinary, but another thing we normalized and included in our daily routine. 

It is easy, it’s time-efficient, and you can choose the products you’re looking for much quicker than when shopping in-store. However, there is one big downside to online shopping – the shopping experience. If in a brick-and-mortar store, you could see the products, feel their texture or material, see their shapes and sizes, and assess quickly whether it is the right product for your needs, with online shopping it’s a bit more difficult to do that.

But here enters product customization. According to Ronnie from product configurator software company Doogma “The feature that turns online shopping into a real experience for the client, one that will make him likely not only to buy from you but also to come back and recommend you to his friends as well.”

This happens because we live in a high-efficiency era. Turning ideas and concepts into hands-on material products should happen quickly and without too much effort. We do not want to spend 2 weeks, going back and forth with the manufacturerto make sure they have the specific product in the color, style, or size we want. 

And even when a client sends out all the details to a producer, it is still no guarantee the end product will look exactly like the client had in mind. But when the client can render his ideas accurately into a real product in a couple of minutes, he is like a child on Christmas Day.

3 Reasons Why Product Customization Will Soon Become the Norm 

If you are still doubting you should add product customization features for your online shop, here are 3 reasons that may help you decide:

1. Longer time spent on your website

This translates to better engagement, which in turn translates to loyal followers and a wide range of hot potential customers. Some marketers are not impressed by followers and potential customers, but the truth is it is hard to make sales when people enter your website and close the window quicker than you could say “website”.

2. Mostly everything is personalized

Look around and you will see that personalized and tailor-made content, products, and services are in high demand. And it has been happening for a couple of years already. Maybe it’s because is a human need to stand out or maybe because there are so many solutions to every problem, it’s hard to figure out which will work, and which will not unless it’s a personalized solution. Either way, the trend is here to stay.

3. Happy customers = big sales

A product customization feature will save your potential customers time and help them get the mockup or the digital version of their product in minutes. This life-like experience is what will help them move along in the decision-making process and, most likely, buy from you.

If you have ever played or heard about the game The Sims, then you already have a great idea of what product customization means and how much satisfaction it can bring to a client. Only now it is not just a game where you can select your characters’ traits, jobs, interests, or the furniture and painting you want in your house – it’s a possibility in the real life. And it is going to become more and more real in the next couple of yearsuntil it will become the norm.