Personalization- the action of designing or producing something to meet someone’s individual requirements. Personalization has already become synonymous to survive and thrive in the era of the empowered customer as 33% of consumers who abandoned a business relationship did so because personalization was lacking.
Retail industry has come up with much technological advancement that creates a user friendly personalized tech experience for every shopper. It’s clear that technology in the retail space is becoming more of a necessity. When we talk about personalization in the garment industry, it is often correlated to custom-made clothing (made to one’s personalized size) but yet again the major drawback in custom made clothing is that it is a time taking process. A boutique store on an average takes 7-21 business days to deliver a custom-made garment to its buyer. It’s slow and is not scalable for the masses.
In the era of fast fashion where clothing can be delivered to you at your doorstep the very next day, custom-made clothing rarely stands a chance unless technology comes into action. Up until now retail offers us fast fashion but what it lacks in personalisation which can be attained when various technology aspects are combined together. That’s where the concept of mass customisation in retail steps in.
Mass customisation is a personalised form of shopping experience but for a wider audience and at a faster pace. But how exactly that can be accomplished?
The answer is to replace mass production with mass customisation by creating a digitalised front end and back end system. When a customer steps into the store they just have to select a design and customise it virtually on the LED screens present at the store.
Technical design aspects can be changed according to the buyer’s preference (neckline, sleeves, length, fabric and colour) and can be visually seen on the screens. This concept is known as digital customisation. This also enables retailers to keep their inventory in digital form solving one of the biggest issues of the garment industry-excess stock inventory.
Once the design and the changes have been finalised the customer has to just input their measurements on that same screen. For measurements retail has now replaced a traditional seamstress with the technology of 3D Body Scanner. A body scanning machine takes your 110 measurements in just 5 seconds and inputs the data into the app which is linked to the back end system. Once the device has taken your measurements your personalised outfit is ready for processing.
Personalised measurements are also yet another option is the buyer doesn’t wants to do a body scan. The whole procedure is quick and efficient.
AI and data make it possible for brands to know more about their customers than ever before, which is also the gateway for greater personalization. At the back-end the digitalised manufacturing system -CAD pattern, semi-automated manufacturing and fast logistics helps in delivering the personalised garment at the store in just 48 hours.
Amazon knows a lot about their customers based on their purchase history, so they personalize and offer their customers special offers based on the customers’ interests. Samshek is one such retail store that offers personalised garments online and through store by digital customisation and 3D body scanning processes.
Personalised tech experience has also proven to be beneficial for the environment. Through Digital customisation, inventory is kept in virtual form which eliminates the excess inventory issue and drastically reduces the textile waste generation leading to a sustainable approach.
As a tech-savvy society who enjoy and embrace change and choice, personalisation can offer the shopper even more, including; reliability, efficiency and, perhaps most significantly, a humanised approach to shopping.
About the Authors
Samiksha Bajaj and Abhishek Bajaj, are the Co-founders of Samshék, Samshék is an online retail shop with a premium offering in the ladies-wear fashion market.
Samiksha Bajaj is a passionate fashionista who believes to bring in disruptive innovation in fashion. She envisions to give an individual an opportunity to reflect their lifestyle through their clothing with complete control.
Prior to Samshék, she was running a small business of Customised Indian wear with her own label Samiksha Bajaj in India. It gave her a good hold on traditional manufacturing system and better understanding of consumer behaviour towards customisation.
Whereas, Abhishek Bajaj is an innovator who loves to explore common problems and solve them using cloud of creativity and technology.
