November 25, 2011
I took this photo from an Automotive Shopping Behavior Study from Google. The graph compares what people usually do when they visit the website of an OEM (=original equipment manufacturer and in this case mostly the car company’s website).  It turns out that the most popular activity on those websites is to play with the configurator. In 2010, about 35% of all visitors to a car website ended up building their own car. That’s huge - especially since creating your own dream car seems to be even more popular than looking for offers! However, keep in mind that this only supports the idea that “creating your own” is fun - something we know from The Customization 500 study. What is also interesting in this chart is that the popularity of “build your own” dropped dramatically - from nearly 45% to approximately 35%. At the same time “search inventory” is the only activity that is stable. Now, we don’t have the data to really understand why that is - it could be that the website visitors are more practical in 2010 compared to 2009 because they are more likely to afford cars now, or maybe there were so many deals that customers just wanted to take advantage of them quickly instead of waiting to receive their custom built car. It’s something to look out for though - how is the interest in design-your-own changing over time? What do you think?

I took this photo from an Automotive Shopping Behavior Study from Google. The graph compares what people usually do when they visit the website of an OEM (=original equipment manufacturer and in this case mostly the car company’s website). 

It turns out that the most popular activity on those websites is to play with the configurator. In 2010, about 35% of all visitors to a car website ended up building their own car. That’s huge - especially since creating your own dream car seems to be even more popular than looking for offers!

However, keep in mind that this only supports the idea that “creating your own” is fun - something we know from The Customization 500 study. What is also interesting in this chart is that the popularity of “build your own” dropped dramatically - from nearly 45% to approximately 35%. At the same time “search inventory” is the only activity that is stable. Now, we don’t have the data to really understand why that is - it could be that the website visitors are more practical in 2010 compared to 2009 because they are more likely to afford cars now, or maybe there were so many deals that customers just wanted to take advantage of them quickly instead of waiting to receive their custom built car. It’s something to look out for though - how is the interest in design-your-own changing over time?

What do you think?

5:10pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEiMQyCPhsUm
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(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: Automotive Industry cars design design your own customization 
August 24, 2011
springwise: In Spain, design your own clothing via 3D simulator Design-your-own initiatives have regularly featured on Springwise over the years, and recently we came upon another interesting example. Set in Spain, Crearmoda allows users to design their own clothing and then offer up those designs for voting and incorporation by others. READ MORE…

springwise:

In Spain, design your own clothing via 3D simulator

Design-your-own initiatives have regularly featured on Springwise over the years, and recently we came upon another interesting example. Set in Spain, Crearmoda allows users to design their own clothing and then offer up those designs for voting and incorporation by others. READ MORE…

10:17am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEiMQy8iLte8
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(Notes: 19)
  
Filed under: innovation Business startups style design fashion 
October 7, 2010
4 Holiday Shopping Lessons for Mass Customizers

The Holiday Season is upon us! No, really, I’m not kidding. People are already searching for Christmas and Hannukah Gifts, and you, dear provider of wonderful personalized gift items, need to be prepared!

I participated in a webinar today where Symphony IRI presented their findings after surveying over 1000 consumers, and I’d like to talk about the points from that webinar that are relevant to customizers:

1) Consumers will spend less this year than they did last year

“Recession over” what? The total budget for most consumers is below $500, and 32% of all people surveyed plan to spend less on holiday gifts - partially by purchasing fewer gifts, but 15% also will spend less by making gifts themselves. For the busy person, this is where customization comes in! In comparison, a personalized gift is much more unique and thoughtful and thus more valuable than, say, a piece of jewelry. 

2) Consumers will shop earlier this year, and they will care a lot about availability

Google will tell you that people search for keywords like Christmas and Holidays in August - and this study strengthens the claim that consumers go looking for holiday gifts early. The idea is that consumers don’t want to spend all of their the holiday budget all at once, so they stretch it out overtime. Keep in mind though that intention does not equal action :) A primary concern for consumers is also availability - another reason to shop early. In regards to availability, we mass customizers have an advantage -we produce on demand! But do make sure you have enough capacity to satisfy last minute orders. 

3) Consumers will shop online, and they will make a holiday shopping list

Even if not everyone buys holiday gifts in September or October, they do compare prices, and they are making a list (and checking it twice). You have to be sure to be on that list! 54% of all consumers surveyed stated in the Symphony IRI study that they would purchase some of the gifts online, and that group was skewed towards the wealthier individuals of the survey. 

4) Have gift cards available

Two thirds of consumers plan to give gifts cards this year. That is a huge potential for customizers, because a gift card to a design your own website is not only just giving an object, it’s also giving an experience. Creating your own stuff is actually fun - a gift card for a design your own website has a lot more value than a standard gift card. If you don’t have any gift cards yet, you might consider building that functionality. 

10:51pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEiMQy1BfhnL
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(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: Holidays Christmas Hannukah E-Commerce Online Shopping Mass Customization Design design your own Gift Cards 
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