SEATTLE – (dpa) – A world of mass customization is thriving on the Internet as an increasing number of companies use the World Wide Web to fulfill the most unusual of desires of their customers.
Companies that sell everything from shoes to computers or cosmetics have found a common ground on the Web: a focus on products for individuals.U.S.-based Web site DigiCHOICE, at www.digichoice.com, recently unveiled a list of thousands of companies that specialize in the fulfillment of special requests.Among them is German clothing store Dietrich, located in Aachen, Germany. For several years now, the store has been selling tailored shirts over the Web.Customers enter their measurements into the input form, select a style, and then, after the shirt is individually made, they receive the finished product delivered to the door. The Internet pioneer also offers boxer shorts with individual designs – an exclusive service.Who wouldn’t want a watch that is guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind? A number of famous brands have attempted to approach the fulfillment of this dream by creating specially requested models in small quantities.Smaller firms, however, are especially well suited to offer this level of total customisation. At IDTown.com, for example, there are watches with a face decorated with a photo provided by the customer. The customers submit a digital photo via e-mail and then the picture is transferred onto the watch face by the manufacturer.The customer can even coordinate colours by specifying the colour of the watch band. The watch maker is one of the most popular e-shops in DigiCHOICE’s stable of firms that have opened their doors in the past year.Of course, DigiCHOICE doesn’t feature only small firms like IDTown, but also giants such as Nike. Under the slogan “Nike ID,” Nike now offers dozens of colours for athletic shoes.Buyers can even give their inventions an individualized name which is stitched onto the shoe. The company doesn’t allow just anything to be printed on its shoes, however. It has refused personalized items emblazoned with swear words, and has given a thumbs down to pasting the names of competitors like Adidas or Reebok on its products.For established firms like Nike, though, mass customization represents one more opportunity to build brand loyalty among customers. Retailers have had to learn to deal with a tough new trend among consumers: online price shopping, which enables customers to seek out rock-bottom prices without ever stepping out of their door.These consumers are no longer satisfied with choosing from whatever the company feels like offering. “They want choices, their choices!” says DigiCHOICE’s Joseph Pine. Economy experts such as Heather Dougherty of the California-based consulting firm Jupiter Research view mass customization firms as niche phenomena, at least for the time being.Only when the cost of producing individual pieces drops further, and when customers are willing to pay more for individualized pieces, will mass customization pay off for producers, Dougherty believes.Even DigiCHOICE’s Joseph Pine doesn’t dispute that assertion. Sceptics dismiss the idea of mass customization by recalling one marketing blunder still fresh in recent memory. When dollmaker Mattel allowed customers to order customized versions of the bestselling Barbie, the handmade pieces went for 40 dollars – a sum that proved too costly for young customers. Barbie fans invested their pocket money in normal Barbies, for 20 dollars less instead.But the folks at DigiCHOICE are not abandoning their vision. Partner firms such as perfume producer Reflect.com (www.reflect.com) report that business is brisk for personalized scents. Even the Web site Mycereal.com (www.mycereal.com), a producer of granola, has attracted droves of customers looking to create their own mixes.Industry giant General Mills, the muscle behind the Web site, sees an extra benefit: a powerful tool for market research. By reviewing the orders, the manufacturer learns just which breakfast mixes are best loved. Online bestsellers can then be turned into top products in the aisles of regular supermarkets.
