Mine, mine, mine – Mass Customization for all

Individual designs and products are becoming increasingly important in the printing industry. What opportunities does this create?

Whether it’s self-designed shoes, T-shirts, or cell phone covers – nowadays, anyone can put together a product to suit their own personal taste. Mymuesli is probably one of the best-known companies that have become very successful through mass customization. However, it is not only the food industry that benefits from this model – this trend is particularly exciting for the printing industry.

Customer-specific mass production?

More and more companies and private individuals want individual products that are tailored precisely to their needs. They don’t want to pay a lot for them and the effort shouldn’t be too great. That’s where mass customization comes into play: Individual products from mass production. What at first sounds like a contradiction today is no longer a problem. Mass customization, if planned correctly, hardly brings additional costs and the marginal costs are almost zero.

This is where it comes in handy that many suppliers make various design templates available online for your products. Whether colour, motives or material – the customer is king over the different options. With an easy handling, the customer can design and order his personal product on his own.

My soap, my shoes, my cell phone case

At Rossmann, for example, the customer can individually design a small selection of cosmetic products such as soap, shower gel or creams under “My Design”. Whether a photo in the background, self-written text or other motifs – the customer has many possible design ideas at his disposal. With mi-adidas, Adidas offers its customers the personalization of shoes and shirts. For example, the customer can add a lettering and emoji to the shoes. US competitor Nike advertises the comparable “Nike By You”. Here, too, customers can design shoes to their own personal taste and, for example, combine colours individually. Almost all products can be individually printed. This is particularly interesting for the promotional products industry. Caseable is targeting young buyers – with self-designable cell phone cases, laptop cases or iPad cases. The trend is particularly exciting for business with the multi-use 3D printers, which can deliver personalized products across many industries.

What is behind this?

Why does the model of product individualization actually work so well, especially in the digital sector? It offers customers the opportunity to actively participate in the process. Anyone who customizes a product online according to their personal wishes has spent time and thought about it. This appreciation creates an emotional bond with the product.

Future opportunities for the printing industry

The megatrend of individualization is a great opportunity for the printing industry. This is where an investment can be very promising for print shops. Whether it’s easy-to-use online tools for customers, creative product ideas or new design templates: if customers are enthusiastic about their ‘home-made’ product, the bond with the company is strengthened at the same time.

Author: Emily Koslowski

Picture: unsplash