The 3D configurator template: the ultimate tool for selling furniture on the Internet

The number of Internet customers is expected to reach a staggering 2 billion. And when you consider that by 2040, nearly 95% of all purchases will be made online, you can imagine how important it is to find your place among the competition right now. But online sales still suffer from certain drawbacks, such as a lack of trust and the return of goods.

You can’t always rely on the visual accuracy of product data sheets. Even if a manufacturer provides photos of the item from several angles, these are still static images. These photos simply can’t present the item in all its forms, as a 360° view or a physical store could.

That’s why more and more online merchants are using 360° viewers to present their products online, allowing you to see the product from every angle, and sometimes zoom in too. But even this interactive tool can have its limits. After all, it’s all about turning a product on its axis: you can’t add features, change colors or textures. This is why more and more e-retailers are turning to the 3D configurator model.

The 3D configurator is a very popular tool in the e-commerce world, as it enables consumers to personalize their items to their own taste. They can test colors, textures and even shapes until they find the one that suits them best. They can also order bespoke items – as we did for a manufacturer of customizable Moroccan sofas.

But customers aren’t the only winners from using a 3D configurator model. Furniture manufacturers and retailers can shorten the sales cycle, get to know their customers’ tastes better and drastically reduce their inventories.

Discover 5 ways to boost your sales with a 3D furniture configurator!

#1. Use the 3D configurator model for extreme customization

Allowing customers to fully customize their product is the ultimate in personalization. With the help of a 3D visualizer, Internet users can assemble their furniture so that it perfectly matches their interior, both aesthetically and in terms of proportions. They can choose the size, dimensions and finish of their furniture: all options that will enable them to create a unique object that reflects their tastes.

Once the process has been completed online, the manufacturer receives a precise order form, which he simply has to follow. The result for the manufacturer: zero stock of finished products! What’s more, since it’s a highly personalized product, and unless there’s a manufacturing defect, the law doesn’t oblige the supplier to take back the manufactured furniture: so many order cancellations avoided.

#2. 3D shows furniture from every angle

A 3D configurator model can be used in a 360° viewer. Users can then easily rotate the object using their mouse, keyboard or simply by touching the screen of their phone/tablet. Some viewers also allow zooming in to appreciate the smallest details of the product. Thanks to the very fine modeling of the object, our CGI studio can perfectly render the image of the piece of furniture, from its shape to its texture.

On-screen, the user has the impression of holding the object in his or her hands, an impression that brings him or her as close as possible to an experience in a physical store. Thanks to the 3D model visualization, he or she is able to correctly assess the furniture without the need for additional photos.

#3. Present furniture in different contexts

When you prepare a 3D model for a configurator, you can then arrange this 3D object in any environment. This allows you to make the most of your furniture modeling. In this way, furniture professionals have every interest in reusing their models in a wide variety of scenes – whether original or reused.
In fact, when you use our furniture staging service, you have the choice between creating a custom-built scene, or an ambiance that already exists in our catalog. This second option allows you to make substantial savings, and gives you the chance to make your modeling more profitable by obtaining several high-quality visuals to broadcast on your channels.

What’s more, presenting your furniture in different atmospheres encourages web users to imagine the item in different situations or different rooms. An office chair, for example, can find its place in a bedroom, a living room or an office, as long as the right colors are chosen thanks to the 3D model for configurator!

#4. Provide complete product information before purchase to reduce returns

If there’s one thing online retailers want to avoid, it’s returns. After all, if the customer doesn’t like the furniture, they have the right to return it within 15 days, increasingly at the merchant’s expense. A deadweight loss that must be prevented at all costs! To this end, e-commerce sites present photos, even videos, as well as a detailed description of the item. However, all this does not give buyers an overall view of the furniture.

Only by interacting with a 3D model configurator can a customer study the item with maximum precision before purchasing it. Once they’ve chosen their design, clearly visualized the object’s features and seen what it looks like in different interiors, consumers can be more confident in the act of purchase. After all, the chances of them returning the product they’ve assembled themselves are very low.

#5. The ultimate 3D configurator model: VR and AR

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) take the customer experience even further. IKEA is the master in this field with its IKEA Place application. All you have to do is film your interior and choose the piece of furniture you want, and it will take its place in your bedroom, living room and so on. Some stores also offer to create an entire interior from scratch and fill it with personalized objects and decorations using a VR headset and hand-held controllers. It’s like decorating your own home, but virtually.

Unsurprisingly, the 3D configurator model allows customers to become emotionally involved in the process of creating their own world. As a result, the buyer is completely satisfied with the scene, and is ready to buy all the elements needed to recreate the scene they’ve virtually built for themselves.

The 3D furniture configurator gives Internet users the opportunity to creatively adapt an item to their needs. This attractive tool enables them to get to know a piece of furniture better, thus reducing returns. What’s more, an interactive 3D configurator helps marketers to study buyers’ real needs and tastes, so that they can subsequently produce only popular models.