Crowdsourcing Mania Turns Consumers into Retailers, Designers
- <p>
Founded in 2000, this e-commerce site, with a community of artists, art lovers and everyday shoppers, was at the forefront of crowdsourcing.<br />
<br />
Threadless users submit T-shirt designs, which are then voted on for a seven-day period by other users in the community. Designs receive a score from 0 to 5. The highest scoring design gets made into a tee.<br />
<br />
The Chicago-based company is now bringing its populist shopping concept to big chain retailers such as Gap <a href="http://%28GPS%29">(GPS)</a>, and also expanding into home products with items like duvet covers and trash cans for Bed Bath & Beyond <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nasdaq/bed-bath-beyond/bbby" target="_blank">(BBBY)</a>.</p>
- <p>
<a href="http://www.blanklabel.com/">Blanklabel.com</a> enables men to co-create their own custom-designed shirts, providing "the luxury of custom at department store prices," Danny Wong, co-founder of the site, which boasts about 20,000 customers, tells <em>DailyFinance</em>.<br />
<br />
"Blank Label provides an experience that allows the consumer to decide to the finest detail what he'll have in his shirt -- from customizing the style to adding a monogram" to the lining of its collar and cuff, he says.<br />
<br />
And BlankLabel's customers tend to know exactly what they want. "For example, if a customer works in an environment that requires a jacket and tie, he [might] design a shirt with a spread collar so he can neatly tie a Full Windsor knot." Wong says.<br />
<br />
This month, Wong and co-founder Fan Bi were named among <em>Inc.</em> magazine's <a href="http://www.inc.com/30under30/eric-markowitz/fan-bi-danny-wong-founders-blank-label.html">America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs under 30</a>.</p>
- <p>
On <a href="http://www.shapeways.com/">Shapeways.com</a>, people can make, buy and sell anything they want -- from jewelry and wearable art to home decor and toys.<br />
<br />
The user brings a product idea to the site, creates a design and chooses a material -- be it plastic, ceramic or stainless steel -- and uploads it to the site.<br />
<br />
Shapeways then creates the order using 3D printing -- which transforms digital designs into physical objects -- and the newly-minted item is then shipped to the consumer/designer.<br />
<br />
The rise of 3D printing technology -- widely hyped as "the next big thing" -- allows for the rapid, easy creation of customized products. It's the centerpiece of Shapeway's "creative commerce" vision, which aims to help everyday people make their own unique products at a cost on par with what they would pay in a traditional store.</p>
- <p>
This Australian based <a href="http://www.shoesofprey.com/">mass-customization site </a>lets users design and buy their own upscale shoes, mining from among "four trillion possibilities" worth of options via its proprietary, web-based 3D design platform. Products are designed online on a computer or smart phone, then are handmade in high-end leather, and delivered to the customer in about two weeks.<br />
<br />
The start up, which launched in 2009, secured $3 million in funding last month, which it will use to add <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/06/shoes-of-prey-lands-3-million-series-a-to-scale-its-custom-footwear-design-site/">new social shopping features, as well as expand its retail presence and product mix</a>.</p>
- <p>
First Insight designs retail games that users can play online -- think <em>Farmville</em> for fashionistas. Games such as <em>Be The Buyer</em> have helped stores understand what kinds of apparel consumers might like, how much inventory to stock, the profit potential of an item, and even how it should be priced.<br />
<br />
For example, David's Bridal uses First Insight's <em><a href="http://demo.firstinsight.com/gp/gtpwj9a3/fashionfirst.html">What Would They Pay</a></em> game to gauge its wedding gowns' consumer appeal. Players are presented a number of yet-to-be-introduced dress styles, and offer their opinions on each new style and how it should be priced.<br />
<br />
The results give the dress-seller real-time data on consumer preferences, which informs their buying decisions.<br />
<br />
The online game is helping the company sell more gowns at their initial price versus the mark down price, accoding to a <a href="http://www.firstinsight.com/blog/bid/115717/A-Look-Back-at-Retail-s-BIG-Show">testimonial</a> on First Insight's website. And, within about 72 hours, the chain can get a read on the dresses with the most sales potential, versus traditional in-store sample testing, which can take up to eight months to produce results.</p>
- <p>
Unlike sites that enable users to design their own products, <a href="http://www.shopmylabel.com/brands/brand/brandlanding/saks-fifth-avenue">ShopMyLabel.com</a>, which debuted last fall, lets anyone run their own online store, stocked with fashion, jewelry and accessories they've personally curated from about 1,000 brands -- mostly from Saks Fifth Avenue, but also from others like Jones New York and Nine West.<br />
<br />
ShopMyLabel promotes the shops on Twitter and Facebook, and digital shopkeepers earn commissions off the sales. These online fashionista boutique owners generally sell to people they know, putting them in a role similar to that of a personal shopper.<br />
<br />
Sites like ShopMyLabel and similar site S<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=styleonwer.com&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ubH&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=s1UIUNPmF4i_0AHny6GABA&ved=0CE4QvwUoAQ&q=styleowner.com&spell=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=25e087a59d90a9b&biw=1113&bih=729">tyleOwner.com</a> are catering to a new breed of social shopper who relies on the wisdom of the digital crowd to help them make purchasing decisions.<br />
<br />
It's a sign of the times, <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/03/08/the-4-types-of-social-shopper-which-one-are-you/">as marketers are seeing the growing influence of peer opinions on social networks </a>-- which can sometimes carry more weight than a store advertisement or promotion these days.</p>
- <p>
New site <a href="http://www.clothia.com/">Clothia.com</a> offers a twist on the crowdsourcing concept. Instead of consumers having a say in the design of clothing they'll ultimately buy, Clothia allows users to create an online closet out of threads they already own, as well as ones they lust after.<br />
<br />
Users can snoop around friends' virtual closets for stuff they like, and summon fashion advice from stylish virtual friends on how to put together an outfit.<br />
<br />
And in what sounds like a rather <a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest-y twist,</a> Chlothia users can also create a wish list of things they like from the Web.<br />
<br />
The site also features augmented-reality technology that enables users to virtually try on items of clothing from about 100 different brands. -- digitally duplicating the experience of standing in front of a dressing room mirror with a hanger draped in front of you.</p>
- <p>
<a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/10-ways-were-losing-superpower-status-to-china/" target="_blank" title="View this gallery live">10 Ways We're Losing Superpower Status to China</a></p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/responses-for-you-five-obamacare-rumors-that-are-at-least-partly-true/" target="_blank" title="View this gallery live">Five Obamacare Rumors That Are (At Least Partly) True</a></p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/aarp-the-magazine-reveals-2012-list-of-top-ten-places-to-live-on-100-a-day/" target="_blank" title="View this gallery live">AARP The Magazine Reveals 2012 List Of Top Ten Places To Live...on $100 A Day!</a></p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/the-12-dumbest-insurance-scams-of-the-past-decade/" target="_blank" title="View this gallery live">The 12 Dumbest Insurance Scams Of The Past Decade</a></p>
![<p> <a href="http://www.blanklabel.com/">Blanklabel.com</a> enables men to co-create their own custom-designed shirts, providing "the luxury of custom at department store prices," Danny Wong, co-founder of the site, which boasts about 20,000 customers, tells <em>DailyFinance</em>.<br /> <br /> "Blank Label provides an experience that allows the consumer to decide to the finest detail what he'll have in his shirt -- from customizing the style to adding a monogram" to the lining of its collar and cuff, he says.<br /> <br /> And BlankLabel's customers tend to know exactly what they want. "For example, if a customer works in an environment that requires a jacket and tie, he [might] design a shirt with a spread collar so he can neatly tie a Full Windsor knot." Wong says.<br /> <br /> This month, Wong and co-founder Fan Bi were named among <em>Inc.</em> magazine's <a href="http://www.inc.com/30under30/eric-markowitz/fan-bi-danny-wong-founders-blank-label.html">America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs under 30</a>.</p>](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.dailyfinance.com/media/2012/07/blank-label-1040cs071912.jpg){kind=link}
