“Shop the Future.”
That’s the tagline on the newest section of Amazon.com. The online retailer recently opened up a new part of its website, and what it is selling in this section can depend totally on who’s buying it.
On Monday, Amazon announced the Amazon 3D Printing Store where customers can shop among 200 unique products that can be 3D printed on demand and shipped immediately. Customers can choose a ready made design, or they can customize it by changing the material, size, style or color, and they can add personalized text or images. Currently, customers shop for jewelry, home decor, toys, and tech accessories.
“The introduction of our 3D Printed Products Store suggests the beginnings of a shift in online retail — that manufacturing can be more nimble to provide an immersive customer experience. Sellers, in alignment with designers and manufacturers, can offer more dynamic inventory for customers to personalize and truly make their own,” said Petra Schindler-Carter, Director for Amazon Marketplace Sales. “The 3D Printed Products Store allows us to help sellers, designers and manufacturers reach millions of customers while providing a fun and creative customer experience to personalize a potentially infinite number of products at great prices across many product categories.”
Customers can utilize the pre-made design templates to easily customize a design. Most 3D printing software is based on computer-aided design (CAD) software, and is typically difficult to use if you have no training or experience in design. According to Forrester analyst Michael Yamnitsky, the number of products aren’t potentially infinite.
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