How injection molding can help your retail business
Injection molding processes are used in countless businesses today, though we primarily associate it with mass production and industry-wide needs. It’s true that these account for the bulk of injection molding’s utility, but the truth is that smaller, retail businesses can make use of the technology also.
Specifically, here are some of the ways in which injection molding - the process of heating material to fill a precise design mold and then allowing it to harden into a usable product - might be able to help your retail businesses.
Improved store space and displays
If your business has a bricks and mortar store, and you aren’t already giving very careful thought to how the layout appears and how products are displayed, you need to be. Vend dug into the importance of various retail display ideas on the basis that 83% of people’s processing occurs through sight - and thus, how things look will be a primary determinant in how they make decisions while in your store.
This means making displays attractive and immersive, keeping them dynamic and updated, making the overall space inviting, and more. And injection molding can actually help you with these steps.
If you simply go shopping for furniture and decorations as you set up your space, you’ll be limited by existing - and frankly, generic - products. Injection molding, however, is actually used quite commonly in the creation of unique product display appliances, furniture, and storage units.
Clearly it’s a slightly more involved process, but it can also leave you with custom-built items that make your store look and feel unique, and showcase your products in an ideal manner.
Custom off-site production
Regarding the products you’re looking to showcase, injection molding may also be able to help you with the actual creation of your inventory - depending on what it is you’re trying to sell. Again, we tend to think of this technology as it’s applied to broader industrial uses, but within reason it can be used to make parts for all kinds of products (or simply make the products in their entirety). To give you some idea of the possibilities, some have even used the technology to create whole musical instruments.
Whatever idea or product you’re working with, you can now enjoy off-site production of your own custom design through a professional injection molding service. And rest assured, you don’t need to order more inventory than you can handle.
Fictiv’s guide to modern injection molding asserts that orders can be made without minimum quantities no matter the complexity of the design, which means you can send for a single prototype, a limited first run, or, if you do want more of the product, a whole beginning to your inventory. The choice is yours, but if indeed you have need of items that can be crafted via this technology, the customisability and convenience of this type of production can save you a lot of time and energy (and potentially space).
A tech-savvy appearance
The points above cover most of the direct, tangible benefits you might be able to enjoy by taking advantage of injection molding. You can use the products that are molded to keep your store appealing and interesting, as well as to produce portions of the very inventory you’re seeking to sell. However, if you take the right approach, using injection molding (or really any advanced technology) can also help your business where its reputation is concerned.
An article on this site about how technology can improve your business included the idea that tech can add to your professionalism, and this is certainly true of injection molding. While the process won’t necessarily be visible to customers, making it known that you employ this technology - through anything from your business’s social media account to descriptions on products’ tags - will leave customers with the impression that you’re running a professional, tech-savvy operation. These days, that can only be a good thing!