Mysuitny.com is an online website that allows anyone to design their own suit. Within two weeks one can have a uniquely tailored made suit delivered to their home.

An individual can pick from 100 types of materials, that don’t simply differ based on colors. The assortment of the materials to pick from differs between pattern, weight of the material and colors.

When looking at the jacket, pants and vest a large variety of options are available. These options differ from type of stitching, to the buttons used and design of the pockets.

All these factors allow an individual to decide on very small but significant attributes.

We already notice two factors which consumer channel dynamics is related to; digitization and individualization.

Technology today allows us to design our own suits to the finest of details online. All our measurements and choice of attributes are selected online, and automatically sent to the production plants. This is only possible because technology has reached such a level that allows this. A very important characteristic of this is that it saves a lot of time for consumers. An individual doesn’t need to go to a tailor anymore and get all measured up. He or she can take his own measurements at home and add them to his or her profile on the site. The site gives clear instructions on how to take the measurements. This is quite important when designing a suit, as you want the suit to fit. Generally this would be interpreted as a good aspect as it saves time to a consumer. However when we consider the product in this case, some individuals may enjoy the experience of going to a tailor. A consumer may have more utility by having have their measurements taken by a professional, rather than doing it themselves.

When considering individualization this is also an excellent example. An individual can design its own personal suit, meaning nobody else owns a suit like his. This is very important aspect as this is where the most value is added. The suits available here aren’t the usual designs of suits found in most stores. It’s the consumer that decides how he/she wants his/her suit, making it unique. The consumer is deciding every detail about his or her suit. Again this is generally perceived as a good aspect since the suit becomes personalized and isn’t anything traditional and common. However certain individuals may gain more utility from having specialized designers make suits, and not themselves since it may not be their specialty.

What’s good to see in this example that the consumer is very active. When we consider the roles in a ‘consumer driven system’, a consumer is very active through out the whole process. Another interesting topic to consider is ‘mass customization’. When looking at this case, consumers are willing and able to be ‘co-creators’ to have their unique product or service. By means of this web site, a consumer can directly pick what he/she prefers most, maximizing their utility. This in return allows the company to offer a higher value product to their customers.

Links:

http://www.mysuitny.com/website/default.aspx (official site)