Henry Ford famously said that people could order Fords in any color they wanted, as long as it was black. If e-commerce existed more than a century ago, Ford might have been in trouble. In fact, it wasn’t long after auto manufacturing became a major industry that customer demand kicked in, and car makers began offering options.
Today, personalization is everywhere. People no longer buy “just some product”. They want to get an experience along with it. Customization allows instilling a feeling of “uniqnuess” and “self expression”, making even a mass-market product appearing more exquisite and, hence, desirable. This desire for customization isn’t simply an urge to modify cosmetic features either. Consumers may also want to customize functional elements.
The solution is interactive eCommerce. It enables the business to set the parameters, by defining what can be customized and the options that customers have. Customers can then select the options that they desire. The end result are products that truly meet customers’ needs.
So, customers can pick and choose. What’s new about that? Interactive eCommerce gives brands the chance to create interactive user experiences long before a customer is ready to convert.
Someone can enter the eCommerce site of a drum manufacturer, and spend hours designing the perfect drum kit long before they are ready to make a purchase. Even better, the experience is social. Imagine a young couple customizing the bicycles they plan on purchasing to use on their upcoming honeymoon. Finally, this kind of interactivity gives consumers the chance to see the results of their choices in real time.
There are also benefits for brands that offer up this kind of customization. When a customer creates what they consider to be the perfect item (football jersey, motorbike, engagement ring, etc.), they don’t keep that to themselves. Instead, they share it on social media. They ask for opinions. This results in engagement and increased traffic as more visitors come to check things out, and see how they might create their own customized product.
E-Commerce Sites That Are Getting Interactivity Right
Here are a few eCommerce websites that are doing a great job of providing interactive user experiences for their visitors.
If you’ve ever been involved in athletics at any level, you know that one of the best days of any season is the day that new uniforms are issued. Both coaches and athletic directors relish the opportunity to hand pick the features of the uniforms that they hope will instill pride in both the athletes and those rooting for them.
Dynamic Team Sports is a major manufacturer of athletic apparel. They provide clothing for sports teams of all types. In order to create the best user experience possible, they turned to Doogma to create an interactive design solution that allows users to customize their team’s athletic apparel.