eStar Chief Client Officer Richard Berridge discusses the rise of product personalisation.
Fashion has entered a new era of personalisation and it’s making waves across the globe. In recent years, Australian retailers have brought individualism to new heights, allowing shoppers to put their own unique stamp on their favourite accessories and clothing.
As the demand for personalised products grows, so too does the variety of customisable products – no longer is personalisation limited to novelty coffee mugs. Today, personalised bags, wallets, phone cases, notebooks, and shoes flood the desks and wardrobes of everyday Australians, standing out as expressions of individuality and style.
While monogramming has been around since Roman and Greek nobility, personalisation has recently become one of the most powerful themes in the retail sector. A recent report from Deloitte Consulting confirmed that one in five consumers are willing to pay more for personalised products. But not only are 20% of customers willing to pay a premium, the personalisation of their product provides a whole new level of customer attachment to their purchase, fostering greater brand engagement and loyalty.
A key driver in this mass market popularity is the rise of eCommerce and other digital touchpoints that provide advanced customisation tools and highly detailed visual previews, revolutionising the art of personalisation and making the personalisation process entertainment in itself. Considering this, it comes as no surprise that the country’s leading monogramming labels, The Daily Edit and Mon Purse, started as online-only retailers.
One retailer, successfully catering to this trend is Australian specialty fashion store Mimco with their Mimboss offering – a luxury leather monogramming service where customers can make their mark on a range of Mimco pieces. The Mimboss buying experience is seamlessly integrated into the customer journey, both in-store and online. To effectively contribute to the customer’s online experience, Mimco shoppers can personalise a selected product range with characters and symbols, generate previews of their personalised Mimboss products and test out the foil colour and font options, all of which significantly boost their buying confidence and contributes to decision making.
Another example is Coca-Cola who created a highly successful campaign called ‘Share A Coke’ which tapped into the psychology that is driving personalisation demand. Their campaign featured common first names on their Coca-Cola bottles, instantly transforming their standard beverage into something that consumers perceived as a personalised product. Building on the success of this campaign, Coca- Cola went on to offer customisable bottles through their online store and flagship café, providing consumers with the chance to personalise an iconic product.
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg; according to a global study by Accenture, 40% of retailers agree that providing personalised experiences, be that through services or products, is their top priority with 61% saying that personalisation technologies present them with a positive customer experience.
And personalisation isn’t just for large retailers. Small retailers are also leveraging product personalisation to differentiate themselves and boost revenue. Capable, low-cost personalisation apps can now be plugged into some eCommerce platforms to enable product customisation options that match the unique needs of their customers.
Personalisation is the ultimate luxury that is made just for you. With the rise in social media and the idea of a ‘personal brand,’ there’s a growing desire to stand apart from the crowd and become progressively more individualistic in the way you lead your life and express yourself – including how you choose to curate your wardrobe. Personalised pieces of clothing and accessories communicate who you are to others, even if it’s as simple as initials on a phone case. Brands understand this desire which is why the strategies behind the creation processes must remain seamless, add value and be informative to ensure that what is designed online matches what is delivered to the front door.
