5 Ways That 3-D Printing is Going to Shake Up Retail

2. 3-D printing as a service. Retailers with brick-and-mortar locations will actually be able to take advantage of 3-D printing's rise in the near term by offering 3-D printing as a service. Consumers still waiting for more affordable and higher quality at-home 3-D printing options will be able to access the technology as provided at local stores. Even after common adoption of at-home 3-D printing, retailers will likely play a role in making larger and more powerful 3-D printing machines available (which consumers will use the same way a person today might use a print shop instead of their home printer for larger or special paper print jobs).