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4 Online Businesses that Have the Most to Benefit from 3D Product Configurators

Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst

Online retailers have several advantages over their brick-and-mortar counterparts, but traditional stores do have one major advantage in their favor as well. They can provide a tangible experience to their customers, which online stores cannot.

A jeweler can show off jewelry in the flesh, allowing customers to even try it for a while. The local electronics store can display all their top television sets in a side-by-side comparison so that the customer can get a clear idea of what to expect from which model. This tangible, first-hand experience can be more persuasive in relevant sectors.

3D Product Configurators: The Best Solution

Three-dimensional product configuration and integration systems, aka 3D product configurators, are software tools that provide the best possible solution to this problem. These interactive software components are embedded into a merchant site, designed to provide potential customers with a realistic, three-dimensional experience of their products.

For example, a 3D jewelry configurator would let interested customers look at all products from any angle they wish, make customizations, and even try them in augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR). In other words, 3D product configurators minimize the tangibility gap discussed earlier by providing customers with an interactive, almost lifelike experience online. Any online business that can benefit from these tools should most definitely do so if they have not already. Can your business benefit from a 3D configurator as well? As we are about to discuss which sectors stand to gain the most from having these software tools onboard, you will find out as we are about to discuss which sectors stand to gain the most from having these software tools onboard.

Real Estate: Sales & Construction

Real estate agencies and construction companies often work together with the customer to bring their dream homes to life. To better explain the process, we have divided it into a simple step-by-step process next:

  1. The real estate agency embeds an advanced 3D configurator into its website.
  2. The customers use it to personalize everything from selecting the number of rooms to deciding the paint shades on each wall of their potential future home.
  3. As they do so, the software ensures none of their modifications go outside the pre-set limits.
  4. Once the customer is satisfied with what they have, they can use the embedded AR tech to experience their design first-hand.
  5. After the customer confirms the pre-build home and plot, a construction crew is contacted.
  6. Work begins immediately after to bring the customer’s vision to life, post finalization of the sale.

As we can see here, not only do three-dimensional configurators allow customers to interact with a product online, it also enables them to get a feel of something that is not even in existence yet. Not even real-life experience can beat that!

Renovations: Interior and Exterior Designing

Interior and exterior designing companies cannot use a 3D configurator tool in the same way real estate agencies do. They are not the ones who have access to the house’s blueprint, as this time around, the house already belongs to the customer. The company only has products and designs that will need to be modified to fit the customer’s residence. This is exactly why augmented reality is crucial to making 3D modeling configurators a successful tool for the renovation sector. Just as before, here is a simplified step-by-step guide on how these tools work:

  1. The customer is told to capture some media and/or take measurements of the area they wish to renovate using the 3D configurator tool itself.
  2. The built-in AI guides the customer and captures everything that it needs to create a fairly accurate 3D model of the area.
  3. After the 3D model is ready, customers can browse through the company’s entire catalog of designs and products.
  4. Customers will now be able to apply/place anything they like inside the 3D model and make adjustments and changes as they seem fit.
  5. After the customer submits their final design, the company contacts them for further clarifications and discussions.
  6. Once everything is in order on both fronts, the renovation work will begin.

Once again, just like in real estate, 3D modeling configurators allow their potential customers to get a feel of the future, designed by their own choice.

Jewelry: A 3D Jewelry Configurator has Virtually Limitless Possibilities

3D jewelry configurator tools have boosted business to an amazing extent for online jewelers. What was earlier a major obstacle for the sector has been turned into an advantage by these tools. For example, the real-time jewelry customization tool offered by Apviz allows easy creation and importing of 3D models onto the website. Customers can further personalize it in any way that they want from thereon. After they are done with their personalization, customers can use the built-in AR support to try on the piece in virtual representation. The 3D jewelry configurator is not just a simple 3D modeling tool made for the customers, but an intricate 3D jewelry configurator software service made with professional jewelers in mind. It supports an extensive set of features that includes a huge library of carefully categorized 3D metals and gems, automatic API connection with ERP, PIM, DAM, and CRM support, exporting two-dimensional prepositioning and captures, and real-time engraving, among others.

As we can see, the jewelry business has used real-time jewelry customization tools to boost sales and create virtual representations of the very products that they will be selling. This has proven to be particularly useful during these times when most companies have to work with a limited in-house workforce.

Watchmaking and Selling: 3D Configurators Make Both Possible

Quite similar to how the software service works to help jewelers make three-dimensional representations of their jewelry, the right type of 3D configurator can also help watchmakers do the same. This is a relatively new and more exciting addition for the customers. Before 3D configurators came into place, all customers could hope for in a watch was perhaps a few words of engraving in terms of personalization. Now, thanks to the software customization options online, they have a lot more in terms of choice.

Watch configurators
Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst

Those choices still cannot be as intricate as they would be on a piece of jewelry, of course, since clocks have sophisticated inner workings that cannot be customized. Nevertheless, they can still choose to change the strap, the dial, some external materials, add design elements, choose the material, etc., if they wish to. 3D configurators also allow customers exact control over the engraving style and font, which was not previously possible. Once they are done with their modifications, they can even try out their 3D watch in AR.

The potentials of 3D modeling are applicable nearly everywhere, from automotive to construction, and they have been there for a long time now. However, online 3D product configurators tools that allow the customer to step in and say are still a fairly new piece of technology. As augmented reality shifts further away from video games and focuses more on developing its limitless potentials as a business tool, we should see more industries joining in to adopt customer-friendly, 3D modeling technology on their sites.

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