How to incorporate personalized gifts into your products 

Personalization has seen significant growth in recent years, with research estimating that the personalized gift market in the US alone reached $9.07 billion in 2023. This has been supported by customer research, which shows that consumers are willing to spend more on products that can be personalized.

While many businesses have started to take advantage of this recent trend, some are still struggling to understand personalization, how the process works, and how they can begin to compete with personalization businesses. Here, we answer all these questions.

What is the personalized gift market worth?

Recent research estimated that the personalized gift market in the US has reached $9.07 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach a value of $13.12 billion by 2029.

Customer research further supports these sentiments, with data indicating that consumers are happy to spend between 7% - 20% more on products that offer customization. Additionally, consumers have indicated that they are more than willing to provide brands with their personal and preferential data if they [the brands] take product personalization seriously.

How do personalization businesses work?

Personalization businesses in the US typically work by using data and technology to tailor products, services, or experiences to individual customers.

This can include using data on customers' preferences, past purchases, and behavior to make personalized recommendations, customizing products or packaging, or creating personalized marketing campaigns.

By leveraging customer data, personalization businesses can offer more tailored and relevant experiences, which can help to increase customer engagement, loyalty, and revenue.

Examples of personalized gift businesses

There are several different types of personalization businesses, each with its own unique approach to personalization.

1. Pre-printed retail gifts

For decades pre-printed gifts have been available in gift shops on spinners and racks. Examples include History and Heraldry, who are known as one of the keading “impulse gift” manufacturers globally.. This has the big challenge of stock control, popular names selling out and new trending and more ‘wacky’ names never being available.

The Share-a-coke campaign was a simple but clever concept that had a big impact on sales for a well-established brand. This had no obvious stock control issues, but the likelihood of finding your name always seemed slim!

2. Print in-store retail gifts

This has been done for a while in Sports shops - for example, by adding your name to the sports kit. Other examples include engraving or personalized labels in pop-up stores in premium department stores eg. Bloomingdale’s, especially during the festive season.  Challenges here include staffing costs, unreliable software, slow print/personalization process, expensive space and even a lack of stock on some letters of the alphabet!

One system that has really perfected in-store personalized gifts is www.my-moments.com. It is space efficient and fast, plus it has the massive benefit of not having to commit to printed inventory that may or may not sell. Designs can be added or switched off remotely – a dream for stock control!

3. Individually named promo gifts

This is the next step from solely printing a generic brand logo or message - actually including the recipient’s name on the product, creating an awesome reaction and a much higher ‘keep me’ factor! Fun examples include desk calendars using software like XmPie to spell your name in flowers or balloons, for example! Challenges with this system is that it relies on data being accurate. From experience, expect last-minute requests for additional names, which become a hassle, slow and expensive. Adventa has a wide range of products that can simply and easily be printed and created on demand from an office toner printer. Simply get a design preset. See the Uprint system in action here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqxoHS5Mjzc 

4. Online personalized gift companies

These companies represent the biggest part of the market. Examples include Zazzle and Shutterfly, and Adventa itself. An endless range of products is available, where the blank products are mass-produced and supplied wholesale to printers from Adventa, including Canvas, Drinkware, Snowdomes, and Keyrings. The challenge with this business model is being ‘lean’ in the process. Order values may not be huge, and each one is different! Make sure you invest in proven software and consider the whole process from order to dispatch; cutting out ‘touchpoints’ can make or break a print-on-demand gift production process.  Check out this neat process example here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2Li6Z7k6xo

Another challenge is the seasonality of demand. Expect huge peaks around events like Mother’s Day (the second Sunday in May) and especially Christmas, when extra temporary staff will be required to produce Photo Baubles and Domes. It is well worth considering the reliability of your supply change. We know at Adventa how important it is to cope with unexpected peaks in demands!

5. Technology and software businesses

Several companies have developed personalization technology and software that can be used by other businesses to deliver personalized gifts, services, or experiences.  If you are looking for software, make sure you get a couple of references you can speak to, as from experience, software ‘features’ promises can turn out rather hollow! Many major companies end up taking this in-house to deliver the results they need.

One neat feature is to cross sell at the basket, once consumers have spent time creating a design of say a greeting card there is a high chance they will want to simply add another product like a keyring with the same design.  It is especially powerful if you can actually visualize their artwork within the extra product.

Where can you connect with personalization businesses?

With an increased demand for customization from customers, businesses should be looking to see where they can incorporate personalization into their product offerings. However, for many brands, the cost of carrying out customization directly is not feasible.

This is why it’s essential to connect with other personalization businesses that specialize in carrying out such activities. Events such as the Personalization Experience (part of FESPA) look to bring brands together with printers and other businesses to see how they can make personalization a reality in their businesses. You never know; Adventa may even be able to help get you a free ticket if you’re willing to come to Europe!

How can Adventa help your business with personalization?

At Adventa US, we specialize in delivering a range of customizable products, such as wall art, desk decor, mousemats, and more. These products are specifically designed for lean manufacturing. Contact us today to see how we can help your business on its personalization journey.

Adventa also offers a group innovation brainstorming video call – it is amazing what focusing the mind can really achieve! We share experiences and successes, you can tell us about your challenges, we put ourselves in your shoes to deliver solutions and create new and unique products.

The personalization market has seen a significant boom in recent years as customers increasingly seek out customizable products and services. There are various types of personalization businesses that each operate differently. Brands should consider the benefits of implementing personalization, such as increased customer loyalty, engagement and total revenue. However, this should be carefully weighed against the associated costs in order to determine whether it’s feasible for your business.