Product appeal is what makes a customer choose one product over another. When the features and functions of two items are similar, a product with more appealing characteristics will get more sales.
If you incorporate the characteristics of appealing products into your design, elements like the price will become less important to customers. A product’s design and appearance are some of the key factors that drive buying decisions.
For Gen Z consumers especially, visually appealing products increased by 166% year on year. By 2025, Gen Z and millennials will help the luxury goods market grow by 130% according to Bain and Company.
Designing appealing products is how brands can stand out from thousands of online competitors today.
Here are some of the considerations and characteristics that make products more appealing.
Increasing product appeal requires designers to incorporate the same characteristics into products as they do for their brands. Design principles like utility, reliability, usability, pleasurability, and desirability should inform every decision when making your products more appealing.
You can rank the principles above in the following order:
Following these principles will give your product greater appeal, but there are other characteristics to consider. The use of color psychology in product design will also play a role in product appeal. Brand identity, pricing strategy, and the context in which you present products all influence customer perceptions.
The following seven characteristics are how you can make your products appeal to more customers.
Every product has a story and if you tell yours correctly, it will engage more customers. The story can be how you thought of the product, how it helps others in their daily lives, or what feelings inspired you to create the item.
While a product value statement may list all the benefits your product has, it won’t inspire an emotional response. Writing a story will create a personal connection between the product and your customers, giving them a better experience. This is a great way to tie the product to your brand identity and foster loyalty.
One of the easiest ways to drive up appeal is by making a product exclusive. When products are scarce, it creates a sense of urgency that appeals to a customer’s buying psychology. More brands are creating exclusive products, and customers are reselling these items to others over trading platforms.
The luxury resale market is growing and already reached $20 billion in 2020. The resale shopping experience doesn’t have to involve your company, but finding a way to add value to the experience can help elevate your company’s appeal. By making a product exclusive and getting involved in the resale of these items, future designs will be more appealing to existing customers.
You should already have high-quality images of your products on your site. However, the context you use to present it to customers will influence its attractiveness. A study found that when customers view unknown products for the first time on an unattractive website, the perception of quality drops.
The context of your product’s presentation includes everything you use to frame the product online. Your website layout, image background, and additional information placed around the product will affect a consumer’s perception of appeal. To increase product attractiveness, consider using interactive images, 3D renderings, or even augmented reality experiences.
While the temptation will be to add more features to a product to make it more appealing, that may not be a good decision. Appealing products are simple in design and do what the customer wants them to do. Adding more features may change the aesthetic appeal of a product and increase its complexity so that customers no longer find it attractive.
New features should aid function and not hamper it. By empathizing with users, you can create a simple, sleek product design that resonates with your customers. Everything from the packaging to the product itself should follow the gestalt principles of design to boost the appeal and elicit positive responses from potential buyers.
Desirable products speak to the human senses. An appealing brand identity, creative industrial design, and positive customer experience make products more attractive. Sensuous products create a desire in consumers that changes their value perception of a brand.
Presenting products to appeal to the human senses requires you to consider elements like ambiance, attraction, and seduction. Although these attributes regularly feature in products for “sexy brands”, you can use the same principles to increase your product appeal.
Product range optimization is another way to drive up appeal. By offering more products, you can appeal to more customers. A customer who visits your store for one item may find another that is also appealing, increasing their average order value.
You may offer a product in different colors or sizes to attract different market segments. You could also alter the performance of a model to suit another type of customer. By having a product range available, you can continue to grow and make appealing products for a wider pool of customers.
Product customization and personalization are becoming the go-to methods for increasing appeal to customers. Just like with personalized shopping experiences, giving customers the ability to co-create a product makes it more attractive, and you can charge more for providing this service. McKinsey found that 71% of customers now expect personalization and 76% become frustrated if it’s not available.
Personalization can be as simple as adding a monogram to a handbag, like customers can do at Louis Vuitton. The added personal touch makes products from the luxury brand more desirable and attractive to shoppers.
Customization allows customers to configure a product according to their taste. The Fender Mod Shop lets customers design instruments by choosing from different elements available in a product configuration platform.
Customization and personalization help any product stand out from competitors by making every item a unique creation.
Technological, cultural, and economic shifts are changing consumer behavior. In the manufacturing sector, advances in technologies such as 3D printing are making it easier for companies to make personalized products. Consumers are responding by requesting more customized options from retailers every day.
Offering product customization is great for brands that want to create loyal customers and increase order margins. It also makes products more appealing because these creations connect to a customer’s sense of individuality. From apparel and clothing to guitars and sports gloves, product customization is a trend that will define the future of a brand’s success.
Adding product personalization and customization features to your site starts with a 3D configuration platform. ConfigureID helps make products stand out with a photorealistic, immersive personalization experience. The platform has a flexible user interface with universal compatibility across ecommerce and in-store retail channels.
Some of the key features available from ConfigureID include:
A study from Deloitte found that one in five consumers is willing to pay a premium of 20% for personalized products. Customers want to demonstrate their creativity and derive pride from items that carry their personal touch. In the era of instant gratification, the platforms that enable these creations are reshaping the retail industry.
Personalization transforms shoppers into brand ambassadors. Once a customer personalizes a product, they can share it on their social media channels and get honest feedback from their network. These activities create a connection between the brand, the customer, and friends or family.
Product popularity and appeal rely on increasing the perception of value among customers. Making it easy to personalize items online will help grow your brand appeal, increase order values, and attract more customers to your online store.
The characteristics of appealing products continue to evolve with consumers’ tastes. Giving your customers the freedom to co-create and design products in your online store will help make items more attractive and appealing to customers.
ConfigureID has all the features you need to start creating immersive shopping experiences using personalization. Product personalization increases customer satisfaction and retention while elevating your brand’s popularity above your competitors.
To see how you can increase your product appeal with personalization, schedule a demo with ConfigureID today.
