A few days ago, I was awestruck to see my friend wearing a t-shirt with the quote “I Am Dead Inside” from the popular sitcom “The Office.” I asked him how did he manage to find this gem. He answered, “it’s customized”. A few years ago, this was not possible. All were at the mercy of t-shirt designers whose designs we sometimes liked or disliked. But customers never had a complete say over the product, be it t-shirt, cards, photos, shoes, etc.

But no more, the advent of customization has completely changed the way we buy products. Customization has empowered customers to bring their creativity into life through personalized products.

The printing industry is well aware of this phenomenon. That’s why it is happy to offer customers to customize their products as per their wishes. The effect of customization on the printing industry has been immense. In this article, we will discuss the top 5 ways customization affected the printing industry. But before that, let’s have a look at printing industry market stats.

Customization Boosting Growth in Print Industry

In the last four years, the on-demand printing industry has grown by almost 12%. Customization is a single significant factor that is driving this growth. This is clear from the massive demand for customization from customers. Around 36% of customers now expect the personalization option.

In 2020, the market size valuation of custom t-shirt printing was $3.64 billion. And in the coming years, it’s only going to rise from here. It’s estimated that by 2028, the market size for custom t-shirts will reach $7.57 billion. The success of custom t-shirt printing shows the impact of customization on the printing industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic did affect the custom printing industry but in a good way. There was a spike in the interest in print-on-demand. This was because people were able to set up printing stores from their homes and take orders. In a pandemic, we also saw the rise of particular custom printing products like personalized masks and gifts.

Top 5 Ways Customization Affected Printing

Increased Sales:

Custom printing products have helped printing businesses to drive sales. According to a study by Delloite, on average, 36% of customers would consider buying customized products or services. Not only this, but one out of five customers is willing to pay 20% more than the standard equivalents for customized products.

Moreover, 48% of customers are willing to wait for more for their customized products. These stats show a paradigm shift in customer’s mentality. It shows that customers are now moving from monetary cost and giving more importance to the value.

Word-of-mouth marketing is another significant way customization drives sales. Customers with customized products are more likely to share their experiences. They can share it with their close friends or on social media.

Let’s say someone is a massive Game of Thrones fan, and he designed his custom T-shirt with the help of T-shirt designer tool. He decided to print the famous catchphrase “Winter is Coming” on his T-shirt. The next day in college, he is most likely to show his favorite TV show’s quote on his cool T-shirt to all his friends. And it’s also more likely that most of his friends might consider customizing their T-shirt with their favorite TV show’s quote or image on it. This word-of-mouth marketing effectively works when it comes to customized printing products.

Powered Online Printing Business

The advent of online stores has gained traction in the last few years. You can see the rise of online business across industries including the printing business. Faster websites offer a convenient buying experience compared to a brick-and-mortar store. Furthermore, online businesses have cheaper overhead compared to their traditional counterparts.

On top of that, customized printing has further boosted online printing. According to a study by Invesp Consulting, 59% of customers prefer online stores for buying customized products. It’s because customers can find and buy their products without facing many hassles. Moreover, 53% of the customers have stated that online stores offering customized products provide better services.

Online printing businesses can offer unique experiences with customized products. They can also drive sales by adapting online printing stores as per the interests of each customer. To achieve this, you need to invest in an online product designer tool that enables your customers to customize their printings.

Increased Profit Margin

Before online printing came to the forefront, businesses had to store products in bulk. They hoped to sell it all. But there was always a risk of not selling that was part and parcel of business at that time. But, with the advent of online printing, businesses no longer had to store bulk items. With advanced digital printing machines, online product designers, and t-shirt design software, they can quickly create customized products without incurring any extra costs.

Offered Better Customer Insights

Businesses across the globe are already using customer data to improve their offerings. And the printing business is no exception. But, businesses that don’t offer product customization only collect data like:

• Number of sales
• Items remaining in the stock

With customization, these businesses can get valuable insights that can provide them a competitive edge. With the help of advanced data analytics and CRM technology, these businesses can collect and save data for each customer. Later, they can offer customized products and services that cater to the preferences and interests of their customers. Also, with artificial intelligence showing promise, we might see businesses using AI to study their customer’s customization habits to predict the coming sales trend.

Improved Customer Loyalty

Enabling customization turns your customer from a passive buyer to an active one. It’s because they are a part of the creation process for developing products. They have the power to personalize their product as per their preferences. This drives the satisfaction level of the customer to new heights. Personalization helps print businesses to establish a deeper relationship with their customers. This helps in improving customer loyalty and retention.

Conclusion

Customization has been a win-win for both printing businesses and customers. On one hand, customers can customize the product the way they want, thus adding more value in it. On the other hand, printing businesses can offer customization to:

• Drive sales
• Improve customer loyalty
• Increase profit margin
• Get better customer insights

Customization is here to stay. You can also reap these benefits by offering customization through tools like T-shirt Design Software and online product designer.

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