Amazon.com
For now, the catalogue of products listed at the 3D Printing Store is limited to about 200. It includes almost everything from jewellery, toys, home décor items and various accessories. All of the items can be easily customized by consumers. Shoppers can choose anything from size of the product, material, colour, dimensions, image imprints, style and even personalized text. The items included on Amazon’s new department are come from third-party retailers. In addition, they are offered at very affordable prices which start at under $10 and reach up to $100.
How does it work?
In order to customize and order a 3D printed product, users just need to select the item they want to buy. After that, they need to click on the “Personalize Now” button under the product’s description. This will open a widget in their browser. Through it, consumers can choose from a number of basic designs, colour options, as well as the finish of the material. Amazon also offers users a 360-degree 3D view of the product they are customizing. Once users a ready, they just need to add the item to their shopping cart and proceed to checkout.
A thing of the future
According to Amazon, this online 3D printing store will mark the start of a “shift in online retail,” since it will transform the way products are manufactured and offer consumers a brand new shopping experience. In addition, the retailer shares that it is happy to allow buyer to add some of their own style to its products.
The 3D Printing Store can truly be revolutionary, because 3D printing technology is changing with a rapid speed. Also, it offers unlimited possibilities, which means that Amazon’s catalogue of such products will expand. One day it may even include items like tech gadgets and even vehicles.
Another advantage of 3D printed products is that they are generally cheaper. That is due to the way there are manufactured. They can be created by one single 3D printer and not an entire factory. However, Amazon’s new retail department is not a first on the market. A few other online stores already offer similar services. Moreover, there are even entire shopping platforms that rely on 3D printed products.
The difference with Amazon’s 3D Printing Store is that it will reach many of the retailer’s hundreds of thousands consumers. Therefore, it has the potential to become the biggest and most popular such online shopping platform. Its only drawback is that it currently does not allow users to upload their own product designs. However, that may change at some point in the future.
