Build-your-own: configurators that sell

A configurator has one job: help someone arrive at a product they want to buy. Done well, it makes a shopper feel the product is theirs before they’ve paid. Done badly, it’s a form with pictures.

We looked across the Showcase for stores that let shoppers build, specify or personalise what they buy. They fall into five rough groups. Each store links to its Showcase page.

Assemble it piece by piece

Tilly Sveaas is a small British jewellery brand with its own charm-necklace builder. Around the builder, the store stays simple: filters by material (gold, silver, mixed metal and enamel), a wishlist, gift cards and a stockists page. Built with Commerce-UI.

Massproductions is a Stockholm furniture company. Its Gridlock storage configurator sits within a store that feels like a gallery, next to project case studies and a design journal. Built with coi.

What to look at: in both, the builder is the reason to visit, and the rest of the store gets out of its way. Modular products suit this approach, because the shopper is solving their own problem: their neck, their wall.

Specify it, then it’s made

Unimatic makes tool watches in Milan. “Design your watch” is made to order, alongside bespoke engraving, limited-edition labels and detailed specs on the product cards. Built with Made In Evolve.

OKA sells furniture with made-to-order options and fabric swatches, plus an interior design service for people who want help. Built with By Association Only.

What to look at: made-to-order works when buyers already care about the details. Unimatic puts specs up front for people who read them. OKA offers swatches and a design service, so choosing a fabric online feels less of a gamble on a high-ticket piece.

Mix a box or a bundle

Tibico makes its Build-a-Box flavour picker the hero of the store, with subscribe and save 20% on top. Fixed boxes are there for people who don’t want to choose. Built with bluestone98.

Piglet in Bed builds a mix-and-match saving on three or more items into the shopping flow, and lets people shop by colour. Built with WIRO.

What to look at: a bundle builder is a configurator that raises order value as a side effect. Piglet in Bed ties the saving to mixing, which suits bedding, where people want sets that go together.

Ask questions, then build

VOLDOG sells raw pet food in Greece. It has a dog and cat mode switch, a feeding calculator, a build-your-own recipe option and a product selector wizard. Built with CHP Design Studio.

What to look at: a feeding calculator answers the first question every new customer has: how much? Pairing it with a build-your-own recipe turns a practical buy into something closer to fun.

Make it personal

Chilly’s offers personalised and engraved bottles across a wide choice of colours and sizes, in more than 15 markets. Built with Rotate°.

Mount Street Printers, a Mayfair print house, offers engraving and die-stamping, bespoke project enquiries and a walkthrough of its printing processes. Built with WHP.

Delvaux, the Brussels leather house, offers hot-stamping personalisation next to boutique appointment booking. Built with 51North.

What to look at: personalisation needs explaining when the craft is unfamiliar. Mount Street Printers shows the processes, so the options make sense before anyone picks one.

A configurator should feel like the shopper is solving their own problem, not filling in the store’s form.

What to steal

A few things repeat across these stores.

• One builder, clearly the point. Tilly Sveaas, Massproductions and Tibico don’t hide theirs in a menu.
• A way out for people who don’t want to build. Tibico’s fixed boxes and OKA’s design service both serve shoppers who’d rather not decide alone.
• Answer “how much?” or “which one?” early. VOLDOG’s calculator does this for portions.
• Show the craft behind the option. Engraving, die-stamping and hot-stamping mean more once you’ve seen how they’re done.
• Keep the rest of the store calm. A builder is already asking for attention. Everything around it can be quieter.

See them together

Most of these stores are in the Build your own collection, with a note on what to look at on each. If you’ve built a configurator that measurably changed how a store sells, the award categories for 2027 include Best Conversion Improvement and Best Store Build.