Overview of the global development of POD customized products

POD, or “Print on Demand”, is a shopping method that allows consumers to customize personalized products according to their needs and preferences. With the growing demand for personalized products, POD has become a popular shopping choice.

Rapid growth of the POD market

According to Google Trends data, consumers’ interest in POD has increased by nearly 300% compared with five years ago. Globally, the keyword “print on demand” has been searched 132,700 times per month on Google, of which the monthly search in the United States has reached 33,100 times. This data fully demonstrates the huge potential of the POD market and the strong interest of consumers.

The epidemic promotes new online shopping habits

The outbreak of the epidemic has further promoted consumers to develop new habits of online shopping. According to statistics, e-commerce accounted for only 13.8% of global retail sales in 2019, but by 2021, this share has risen to 18.9%, an increase of nearly 5% in just two years. It is estimated that by 2024, the proportion of online sales will reach 20.3%. This trend provides a broader development space for the POD market.

The fit between environmental protection trend and POD

Globally, the demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly products is surging. POD products are only produced after ordering, avoiding the backlog and waste of unsold goods, and are therefore favored by more and more consumers who pursue an environmentally friendly life. This environmental protection concept is perfectly matched with the POD model, making the POD market have greater development potential in the future.

Diversified consumption trends of emotional satisfaction and personalized expression

In categories such as furniture, home decoration and clothing, more than 40% of consumers have expressed a strong interest in purchasing personalized goods. They are willing to pay higher prices and wait longer for customized products or services. This diversified consumption trend of emotional satisfaction and personalized expression has brought unprecedented development opportunities to the POD market.

POD: A new model for cross-border e-commerce

In recent years, POD has also become a new business model for cross-border e-commerce. Unlike traditional e-commerce, the POD model is that the audience finds products, that is, consumers customize goods according to their needs and preferences. As the S2B flexible customization 2.0 version, the POD model can help sellers improve efficiency, reduce costs, increase product premiums, and achieve flexible operations. According to statistics, 75% of consumers show a higher intention to buy customized products, 93% of respondents believe that selling customized products improves store conversion rates, and 77% of companies that provide personalized products have achieved annual revenue growth.

Global POD market pattern

From a global perspective, North America is firmly in the top spot in the POD market, with a revenue share of more than 40%. It is expected that in the future between 2024 and 2032, North America will maintain a compound annual growth rate of 27.2% to lead the growth. Europe and Asia Pacific follow closely, accounting for 27% and 20% of the market share respectively. Thanks to the continued growth of the middle-class population and the continuous improvement of Internet penetration, the scale of online entrepreneurship in countries such as China and India has expanded rapidly, driving the Asia-Pacific region to become the fastest growing region in the POD industry. It is predicted that the annual compound growth rate of the Asia-Pacific region will reach 27.9% during the same period.

Popular categories in the POD market

In the current market, popular choices in the POD category include clothing, home decoration, cups and accessories. Among them, clothing accessories ranked first with a share of 39.6%, continuing to lead the market. The home decoration category that followed closely not only occupied the second largest market share, but was also expected to achieve the fastest compound annual growth rate of 27.5%.

‌Clothing accessories‌: In the POD market, clothing accessories dominate with a high share. Affected by the fast fashion environmental crisis, more consumers have begun to buy customized clothing to meet personalized needs while reducing textile waste. Printing on demand has become a sustainable alternative to fast fashion, driving POD customized clothing to become more popular. According to Accenture data, 84% of European and American consumers are interested in buying personalized fashion products, and this proportion is as high as 94% among high-spending fashion lovers. In terms of consumer distribution, consumers in Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States are dominant. It is worth noting that although most fashion brands target women as their target audience, young men (25-34 years old) are also very willing to buy customized clothing. From the perspective of product segmentation, 41% of consumers expect personalized daily clothing, such as T-shirts, socks, underwear, etc.; 31% are interested in seasonal fashion items; and 26% of consumers hope to have more personalized options, such as products with avant-garde silhouettes or fancy patterns. Taking Amazon as an example, the price of customized clothing with customized patterns by consumers usually fluctuates around US$20, including round neck T-shirts, polo hooded sweatshirts, etc., with monthly sales of more than 1,000 and growing steadily.
‌Pet products‌: Many pet-raising families will buy exclusive customized products for their pets, and many consumers also choose customized pet products as gifts. On the Etsy platform, customized souvenirs based on pet images are the most popular, such as pet portrait paintings, key chains, flat pillows and other lightweight customized products, with prices ranging from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars. There are also some customized products based on pet images that have attracted much attention, such as the brand crownand paw, which creates novel shapes based on pet avatars with various clothing, and its products cover posters, canvas bags, blankets, etc.
‌Furniture and home products‌: Customized furniture and home products can be divided into two categories: commercial and residential according to the usage scenario. Consumers of commercial customized furniture are often enterprises. They customize products with brand characteristics and tonality, and the order volume is usually large. Consumers of customized residential furniture are dominated by millennials. They generally buy single items, with a stronger degree of personalization and a higher average price per item. In terms of subdivided categories, customized sofas will occupy the main market share in 2023; tables and chairs, as lightweight but frequently used furniture, have been ranked second in market share in recent years; in private spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms, the sales of customized wall decorations, beds and bedding have been rising year by year. Home decorations are one of the fastest growing subcategories in the on-demand printing market. Wall decorations, candles, blankets, pillows, cups and bean bag sofas are all popular customized home products. At present, the main sales channels for customized large furniture are generally concentrated in independent stations and offline stores; on third-party platforms, customized furniture and home products are mainly lightweight sheets, pillows, blankets, tablecloths, and folding chairs.
‌Jewelry‌: Customized jewelry is mainly for weddings, gifts, personality display and other needs. These jewels are generally made of gold, silver, stainless steel, titanium alloy, leather and other materials, and unique jewels are created through 3D printing, laser engraving, mixed materials and other processes. Popular jewelry customization trends in recent years include mixing different materials, retro oversized sizes, rich colors, childlike styles and genderless designs.
‌Consumer Electronic Accessories‌: The consumer electronic accessories market is highly competitive and has rapid innovation iterations. In addition to the standards for the launch of accessories for electronic leading brands, many consumers also purchase personalized digital accessories according to their preferences and needs. Especially young people of the millennial generation, they use customized accessories to show their unique personality and taste.

The rapid development of the POD market and the strong interest of consumers have brought unprecedented development opportunities to this field. In the future, with the continuous advancement of technology and the further upgrading of consumer demand, the POD market is expected to achieve more vigorous development.