MIT Smart Customization Seminar – Spreadshirt

by Joseph Flaherty on November 24, 2008

I attended the MIT Smart Customization Seminar a couple weeks ago and recapped most of the speakers here. One notable exception was the presentation by Jana Eggers, CEO of Spreadshirt, a company that produces custom t-shirts.

Some notes on the presentation:

- According to their data, 82% of people want personalized clothing, but 75% don’t know it is possible, or where to do it. The first number seems a bit high depending on how it is defined, but the second is in line with what I’ve seen. Even in technical communities most people know Cafepress, but far less know Zazzle, and fewer still know about Ponoko and the options these companies offer. Mass customization has a long way to go before it becomes a household word.

Some info about Spreadshirt customers:

• 30% purchased shirts as gifts
• 25% purchased shirts to express ideas
• 20% purchased shirts for an event
• 75% wear their shirts “regularly” or “every time it is clean”

The majority bought shirts to be worn like an off the rack garment. It is interesting and encouraging to see that most customers don’t see the services like this as “gimmicky”. In my talks with customers and investors many have the belief that customized offerings are not competition for products found at retailers, but rather niches or glorified marketing expenses. The data collected by Spreadshirt provides some great info to the contrary.

The major concerns of their customers are:

1. High-quality, long-lasting printing

Direct to garment printing technology that enables one-of-a-kind tshirt printing is a notch below the industry standard (screen printing) in terms of quality. Some companies, including Spreadshirt, use different techniques that yield better results, but educating customers on the differences is difficult to do.

2. Having enough time to create

I think this is the big opportunity in customization right now. If it is true that 82% of people want to create, no one offers a solution that makes it easy for a hobbyist to do so. Designing anything from scratch is time consuming and often frustrating. The first company to create software that has built in design/manufacturing intelligence, enabling non-designers to create professional quality goods, is going to find a massive, waiting audience.

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Tagged as: Cafepress, CafePress.com, Jana Eggers, mass customization, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Personalization, Print on Demand, Publishing and Printing, Spreadshirt, Zazzle

  • http://www.lifeonashirt.com Jana Eggers

    Hi, Joseph, Thanks for the note regarding my talk. A couple of notes:
    * Spreadshirt does use Direct-to-Garment printing, but it is only a small fraction of what we do. Our core printing technology — which gives a Net Promoter Score that is double that of DTG — is plot printing.

    * I'm not sure what you mean by “seeing the service as a pure gimmick”. As gimmick isn't a positive word, I'd love to learn more what you mean. Perhaps it is the quality that you have seen in the past with print-on-demand capabilities. Spreadshirt is known for its quality, and it is quality that is “hanger worthy” — meaning you can have it in your day-to-day wardrobe — even work wardrobe!

    * Regarding most DTG printing being below screen printing, this is true for the most part. DTG is better when you want a retro or faded look. Our plot printing is higher quality than screen printing (but is limited in colors). This is one of the reasons why people are chosing us.

    * People do want to create, but the challenge is a bit different than just the ease of doing it. Most people don't even know to answer the question. The survey we did asked people this question in many different ways. We didn't just say, “Do you want to print something on a tshirt.” Most folks didn't even know to say “print”. When we asked them about what their shirts expressed and what they wanted them to express, they more got the idea that what they see in the store can be done, but done personalized to their message.

    Happy you were at the conference to share your experience and ideas. Hope that clarifies a few things from Spreadshirt.

    Best regards,
    Jana

  • http://www.sojones.com/urban-clothing/luxirie-by-lrg/ Luxirie by LRG

    For me, I like custom made shirts rather than designer shirts but it depends on your choice.

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