Manufacturers and Retailers Use “Build Your Own” to Build Happy Customers

From custom-fit jeans to custom-designed teddy bears, manufacturers and retailers have discovered that giving customers the opportunity to tailor traditionally mass-produced products to meet personal standards can make for an exciting shopping experience and a strong customer relationship. Here, NPD’s Industry Experts comment on how this concept is making itself known across many of the industries NPD monitors.

In apparel, we are seeing the rebirth of customization in several ways. The first is when a brand lets customers express their personal design sense by offering custom options. Some big brands are paying close attention to this innovative approach to customization. Nike's nikeid.com Web site is a great example. Customers visit the site and choose the product style that meets their needs, then select colors for each part of the product, and choose whether to personalize the product with a name or other text. Another way companies offer customization is by permitting customers to create clothing items that match their unique sizes and shapes. Recognizing that some shoppers need special sizing combinations, certain brands now offer “build your own” products that go beyond the fits carried in retailers’ usual assortments. Customization is also driven by consumers when they get the product home - personalizing apparel themselves, cutting sleeves off a tee shirt, embellishing jeans with embroidery or otherwise changing clothing to create unique style. Customization will be important to the future of fashion, whether by allowing consumers to select sizing, style or other components to create a personalized product. Look for more companies to offer unique, custom-oriented products to connect with the consumer and enhance the shopping experience. I anticipate that we’ll see customization hit all areas of men’s, women’s and children’s fashion and footwear.
Marshal Cohen, NPD chief industry analyst/NPD Fashionworld

The beauty industry has taken notice of other industries’ use of product customization to attract and retain customers. Years ago, customization in beauty was more prevalent in makeup, where beauty companies gave customers the ability to customize foundations and color palettes for eyes and cheeks. Today, customization is possible for many products across fragrance, makeup and skincare, allowing consumers to participate in creating the final product according to personal tastes or skin type. For beauty consumers, customization takes many forms: open-sell concept stores offer “create your own” themed baskets, gifts-with-purchase often offer a choice of warm or cool colors, refill packaging is used frequently in makeup, and many beauty brands as well as Web sites cater to creative customers who wish to design their own beauty products.

Timra Carlson, president, NPD Beauty

In the technology arena, customization generally serves to improve customer satisfaction, offer a service level unavailable from competitors, or create unique combinations that discourage price competition. However, HP’s offering of “printable tattoos” serves yet another purpose: to tie back a competitor’s product to its own brand strength. When HP announced that it would offer its own version of the iPod, few thought that it would be nearly identical to Apple’s version. Despite this, HP has created a series of nondestructive stickers that consumers can use to change the look of their iPods. Since these “tattoos” used for customizing another company’s product can be printed on HP printers, they become a consumable product that helps drive HP paper and ink sales.
Ross Rubin, NPD Techworld director of industry analysis

The food industry has long recognized that consumers want to “have it their way,” but manufacturers and restaurant operators know they need to balance consumers’ desire for personalized products with the cost of manufacturing these products. Nearly all foodservice operators provide some customized options for consumers, but we are not really seeing packaged foods being made according to the customer’s personal preferences. Instead, packaged food and beverage manufacturers aim for “mass customization” by adding a wide variety of flavors and packaging options to a product line so consumers can select a version of a product that meets their personal needs or tastes.
Harry Balzer, NPD vice president

True product customization for the end consumer has yet to surface in the industries NPD Houseworld tracks. While there are engraving options in tabletop and custom panel options in major appliances, neither are new trends nor are they examples of customization provided by the industry at the time of manufacture. Even though there are no manufacturers to date that offer consumers the ability to customize products as far as mechanics and unique color specifications are concerned, this could be an area of opportunity for the industry to explore.
Peter Greene, vice president, NPD Houseworld

Customized products are not yet widespread in the toy industry, but a few examples have a strong presence in the market. One of these, the American Girl doll collection, has promoted customization of its imaginative doll brands since 1985. The company's "Just Like Me" doll and accessory offerings allow a child to choose a doll from more than 20 options, selecting skin tones, facial features and hair and eye colors. Another company focusing on kids' interest in personalizing toys is Build-a-Bear Workshop, which has refined and expanded its customization options over the past few years, making quite a mark on the industry. At the company's mall stores and online, customers create their own teddy bears and other stuffed animals, choosing from more than 25 animals and hundreds of outfits and accessories. Kids and adults both gravitate toward this unique offering to build personalized toys for themselves and friends. With Build-a-Bear Workshop sales continuing to look strong, plans for multiple store openings both in the U.S. and internationally, and an IPO in the works, look for a trend in personalized toys to catch on in the year ahead, as other companies try to ride the wave.
Michael Redmond, NPD Funworld senior industry analyst