How to Offer Product Customization

Having the ability to sell personalized goods is an extra bonus for any e-commerce business. Numerous ecommerce sites are providing their customers with some form of product customization and there is still time for you to do the same. Retail is extremely competitive both online and off and whatever you can do to make your business stand out is worth trying. Set your business apart from the rest by providing personalized goods and personalization options that no other business has.


There are several reasons why product customization is great for your business. Customers are becoming tired of run of the mill products and are searching for something unique and personal for themselves and to buy others. They also enjoy having the ability to customize a product to their liking. Selling personalized goods not only adds value for your customers, it also identifies your business as one that is innovative, therefore toppling your competition. It is a small feature that can be implemented with ease, but the payoff is enormous.


Personalized goods come in a variety of forms and you are not limited to selling engraved pens, printed t-shirts or embroidered hats. If you do sell those types of products, it's a good idea to target large groups of people such as sororities or fraternities to market to. Another good way to sell these types of products is to create exclusive lines aimed at special occasions such as weddings or baby showers. There are many other ways to add product customization to your ecommerce site. For instance, you can provide your customers with the option to mix and match colors creating their own color combination. You can also offer them the ability to create or design their own custom kit or gift basket by choosing which products they want to add from your site and then the type of packaging to use. There are many other ways to provide product customization, just put your thinking cap on and let the creative ideas flow.


There are certain things you need to include in your online store to let your customers know about the product customization feature that you are offering them. Here are just a few:

• Include one or more preview images of the personalized goods on their product page. Customers have no idea what the finished product looks like until they receive it so it's a good idea to show them a couple of examples.


• Make sure the customer is aware that the product can be personalized. Write it clearly in the headline, description and product preview.


• Include detailed instructions for either adding text or uploading photos on the product page. You have to ensure the customer has no problems using this feature.


• Display the exact details of all personalized goods in the shopping cart so the customer can review it before checking out and change anything if necessary.


• Make sure to add a return policy both on the product page as well as in the checkout so that the customer knows exactly what to expect if they are unsatisfied with their product. A personalized item is no longer useful if returned, because it cannot be sold to someone else. Therefore it is important that whatever return policy you have, it must be clearly expressed to your customers.

To be able to start selling personalized goods, you must first find an ecommerce solution with the following capabilities:

• Enable customers to type a personalized message through their web browser


• Allow customers to upload photos or other files from their web browser


• Uploaded files are visible from your store admin


• Set total amount of files that are allowed for uploading


• Set which file types are allowed to be uploaded


• Choose whether or not to add extra fees for product customization and how much

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Being able to sell a personalized item is clearly without a doubt great for an online business. Most importantly, you have to have the correct tools to both make it effortless for customers to place a personalized order and for you to process the order. What you need is an e-commerce solution that allows product customization.


Core Commerce is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. You can set up your store in minutes, and with powerful tools to help with not only selling personalized goods, but also SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce, it's no wonder why it has been rated one of the best e-commerce solutions. Click here to try it absolutely free for 15 days, no credit card required!