In the last twenty years, e-commerce has entirely revolutionized retail. It went from being an essentially non-existent business model to becoming a potential threat to the traditional mall as we know it. Jeff Bezos shipped Amazon's first ever online book sale in 1995, and we consumers have never looked back. Data released last February by the U.S. Commerce Department indicates that Americans spent $304.91 billion online in 2014 alone.
In true modern-industry fashion, e-commerce hasn't just grown exponentially. It has evolved and transformed over time to meet the ever changing whims and needs of the modern day consumer. In its early days, e-commerce was fairly limited. You saw something you liked and you bought it. Simple. Customization wasn't an option. Today, not only can you customize a product online and have it made to order (take NikeIDs for example), but you can even design it yourself from scratch - and then sell it without having to lift a finger.
Market, don't make?
Sites like Etsy and Zazzle let users upload custom designs to an online marketplace, where they can then earn a profit on their self-made goods. Makers and artists can now run a successful business without ever having to leave the comfort of their homes. But what if you aren't so much of a maker? What if you're more business than design-oriented, and you're keen to tap into the potential success of an online marketplace?
Now, new platforms are emerging that put the onus on marketing the products instead of crafting them.
Launched in August 2014, Florida-based ViralStyle gives users a range of tools to help them market and sell custom designs made with its built-in design tool. Yes, there is a design aspect involved. But unlike many of its competitors, the company's focus isn't on the design. It's on what happens next.
Using the company's platform, sellers can view campaign performance and get information of referral sources - how much revenue was generated and what was the conversion rate.
Founders Thomas Bell and Brandon Congleton came up with the idea when using custom design site Teespring - a ViralStyle competitor. The two entrepreneurs were the top sellers on Teespring between February - May 2014, and wanted to further grow their business and capitalize on their success. But they realized that Teespring owns all of its buyer data - and they didn't have any access to it.
"We created the company out of necessity," says Bell. "Unlike our competitors, ViralStyle caters to and was built for marketers. We give our users full control over their active campaigns and buyer data."
A t-shirt millionaire?
But is it possible to actually make a sustainable income out of it, when consumers are still spending the majority of their money on brand-name goods?
Tee Marketing Academy creator Peter Chan Jr seems to think so. The entrepreneur's site is dedicated entirely to helping ordinary people like you and I generate significant revenue from selling custom t-shirts. Chan walks you through his own marketing process, which leverages everything from email campaigns to Facebook ads. He recommends creating designs you can market to a specific niche, which could be anything from environmentalists to Pitbull fans. When you've designed your shirt, you can then target your campaign specifically to the niche in question.
He must be doing something right. In his most recent video at the time of writing this, Chan shows viewers his net profit for the week, generated entirely from custom t-shirt sales: over $4,500.
Brands may not be on their way out anytime soon, but there is clearly a market for niche-targeted, crowdfunded goods. A shift seems to be happening in which selling customized products online is not just a viable option for an additional source of income - but a potentially good one. If you're extremely good at it, like Chan, it may even be worth considering as a primary means of living.
And who knows how big of a ripple effect that may eventually lead to.