Making it mine

Japanese clothing company Original Stitch made waves on social media with the launch of their Pokémon themed dress shirts earlier this year. In addition to featuring fabric designs for the beloved creatures, the shirts stand out for their customisation. Customers are not only able to choose the style of their hand-made shirt, but also the specific fabric design of each individual component, as well as their favoured type of collars, cuffs, and buttons.1 Retail customisation enables consumers to tailor products to their liking, suiting their personal tastes. In a retail landscape that has long held mass production as the norm, individual customisation offers an avenue for consumers to express their uniqueness.

Why are consumers interested in customisation?

Consumers may desire customisation for multiple reasons like function, aesthetics, or self-expression. Taking an active role in designing their purchase gives customers exactly what they want, generating greater feelings of customer loyalty to the brand.2 Customisation has also been found to have a further relationship with task motivation, where individuals exhibit greater persistence, concentration, and diligence when performing tasks related to a customised product.3 By personalising a product to match their own style, consumers satisfy a self-expressive need and extend their identity into the product. Such a prospect holds great appeal, and has been leveraged by a range of brands in categories from footwear to fast food.4

Nike is recognising the potential of customisation in their retail space

A notable implementation of retail customisation is in Nike’s flagship House of Innovation 000 store.5 A ‘Sneaker Bar’ is set in Nike’s most innovative location, allowing visitors to full customise their shoes from the ground up. Including embroidery, printing, lasering, and a full range of laces and zippers, patrons of the store can fulfil their wildest shoe desires, making the Sneaker Bar a hugely popular feature.

  1. Krabbe, E. (2019). Source
  2. Valenzuela, Ana, Dhar, Ravi, & Zettelmeyer, Florian. (2009). Contingent response to self-customization procedures: Implications for decision satisfaction and choice. (Report). Journal of Marketing Research, 46(6), 754-763.
  3. Kaiser, U., Schreier, M., & Janiszewski, C. (2017). The Self-Expressive Customization of a Product Can Improve Performance. Journal of Marketing Research, 54(5), 816-831.
  4. Kimmorley, S. (2016). Source.
  5. Golden, J. (2018). Source.