Amazon is constantly working to expand its marketplace to attract and retain additional customers and merchants. Because of that, sales programs such as Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Handmade and Amazon Custom have been developed in the last few years. With the help of these sales programs, Amazon is now trying to gain undiscovered market shares in eCommerce. Amazon Launchpad is specifically aimed towards innovative start-ups who want to sell advertise their product on Amazon.By using the Amazon Launchpad program, the startups receive extended rights to personalize their product description. In addition, the products of the participating startups are given a placement on the Launchpad page as well as the opportunity to upload videos for product presentation.
With Amazon Handmade, Amazon is following the goal of offering handmade products, which are mostly sold via platforms such as Etsy, on its own platform. And finally, there is the Amazon Custom program, which gives Amazon merchants the opportunity to personalize products directly on the Amazon platform. In this article I will therefore discuss the use of Amazon Custom and furthermore explain how you, as a retailer/manufacturer of personalized products, can use the Amazon Custom function in order to sell your products successfully.
What is Amazon Custom and what advantages does it offer?
With the help of Amazon Custom, products can be offered on Amazon, which are immediately adapted or personalized on the product detail page. Currently, the personalization functions for the German marketplace are still partially limited, but we can expect Amazon to expand the range of functions in the future.
Before the launch of Amazon Custom, buyers of personalized products had to contact the retailer via the messenger and submit their personalization requests. This ultimately led to many buyers being annoyed because the usability did not meet the eCommerce standards they were familiar with from conventional online shops. The sellers were also upset because the messages and personalization requests had to be processed „by hand“, which in turn resulted in lower performance in logistics. Now that Amazon Custom is available, every salesperson can offer their personalized products automatically. From my daily work I have found out that the „Amazon Custom“ function is not very commonly used, as most salespeople are not yet aware of this function.
Distinct advantages in selling personalized products are the reduced competitive pressure and the resulting stable price level. Additionally, many sellers of personalized products have not yet recognized the opportunities offered by Amazon Custom, so that sellers who react quickly can gain an advantage over their competitors.
Features of Amazon Custom
Before the selling of personalized products can be started, a registration at Amazon Custom is required. After Amazon has confirmed the Amazon Custom request (usually within an hour), the first personalized products can be added. Please keep in mind that when selling personalized products, the „Add to cart“ button is replaced by the „Customize now“ button. Once a customer has adjusted the respective product and confirmed the personalization, it can be added to the shopping cart. Since this in-between step can lead to confusion among potential customers, it is recommended to use the first bullet point to illustrate the personalization process.
How can I sell personalized products on Amazon?
In the following I will introduce you to the personalization process step by step.
1.Registration at Amazon Custom and confirmation from Amazon
2.Creation and submission of the personalization mask
3.Activation of the personalization mask
4.Accept personalized orders
Once Amazon has accepted the registration for Amazon Custom, you will notice the submenu point „Personalized Products“ in the Seller Central menu. You will find all your products listed in order to activate the personalization function.
If we press „Activate customization“, we can edit the personalization functions. In the first step we have to upload a user interface that will be used as a personalization template.
In the following example I will demonstrate the personalization of name labels. Therefore I uploaded the name label as an interface which can be personalized by customers with the name of the child and a predefined font and font color.
Finally, in the sub-section „customization details“ we select the type of personalization (text customization, image customization and option list). In my example, this will be a text customization, as the name labels will be printed with the names of children.
The next step includes defining the customization details – such as pixel dimensions, character delimitation, and print position of the text on the surface. As these details depend on the product in question, I cannot make any general specifications here.
The next step includes to select the different fonts and font colors that can be used for personalization. By default, only four fonts are available (Verdana, Arial, Helvetica and Georgia), but more fonts can be uploaded. It is important to mention that the specified fonts cannot be applied automatically, but must be activated first. To do this, select the fonts that can be used and then click on „inactive“.
After we have defined the fonts, we only need to select the font colors. There are no specifications from Amazon for the font colors.
The offered font colors can be defined by specifying the HTML color code and the name of the color.
In my example, I have selected four font colors that customers can use when personalizing name labels.
Now we only have to click on „Save and Exit“ before the personalization mask is finally approved by an Amazon employee so that the products can be offered as personalized products. In my example the personalization function looks like this:
Where can I find customer order information for personalized products?
Information about personalized orders can be found just as usual in Seller Central at orders → Manage Orders. Here you can select the marked „personalized orders“ and get the necessary information about the personalization wishes of the customers.
Conclusion: Amazon Custom – selling personalized products on Amazon:
With Amazon Custom, retailers of personalized products can add a personalization function to their products, so that personalization requests no longer have to be handled via the message form or e-mail exchange. Ultimately, both customers and dealers benefit from this. Currently, the personalization function is not yet fully developed. We can assume that in the next few months and even years, appropriate functions will be added so that completely personalizable products can be offered and purchased on Amazon.
