Over the last two years, you’ve probably heard about how augmented reality (AR) will change the retail industry—its market size is estimated to increase from roughly $3.5 billion in 2017 to over $198 billion in 2025.
But before anyone can offer AR in their stores, they have to have 3D models of product—the content of an AR program. While some are skeptical, others are taking action now to prepare for its rise by creating these 3D models.
OW Lee recently started this process by working with 3D solutions company Simply Augmented to create 3D models of outdoor furniture pieces. Leisa McCollister, vice president of marketing for OW Lee, says their dealers had been asking for an online tool that allows customers to see a range of different finishes and fabrics on their products.
“We also wanted to provide a tool where the customer could see a 360-view of the chair and zoom in to see the details,” McCollister adds. “If we can help a consumer visualize what their special order will look like, there will be less resistance.”
OW Lee is starting with one 3D model chair per collection and will grow from there to about 22 models. From kick-off to completion—the project launched in late January—the process took about three months. Fire pits are next on their list.
“Our models will be on our website, on each main collection page,” McCollister explains. “From there, the customer can rotate the chair on any axis, zoom in to see detail, see the chair in any of our frame finishes and World of Color fabrics, and even view the chair in their own space using augmented reality. An added advantage to having 3D/AR models on our website is that our pages will rank higher with Google.”
Speaking about the process, Simply Augmented CEO Boaz Ashkenazy explains that it all began with a discussion around the project scope. They determined how many SKUs, collections and colors were going to be part of the final configuration, as this has an impact on the cost and time to market. Once the scope was agreed upon, the marketing team at OW Lee provided Simply Augmented with photographs, CAD specifications and samples of the materials they were going to integrate into the configurator.
The team at Simply Augmented modeled each chair individually and built a material palette from the Sunbrella samples provided. After two rounds of review, they confirmed the correct material draping and frame construction and launched the configurator online for embedding into the OW Lee website.
Now that the 3D models are built, the OW Lee team can use the assets in a variety of ways. The 3D augmented reality-enabled configurator can be embedded onto their website and shared with retailers via kiosks inside stores. The 3D models can also be distributed to independent sales reps via the Simply3D platform, which makes it easy for the sales team to share 3D assets with potential customers face to face
and online.
“The benefit of AR is that it allows for full-scale furniture mockups to be viewed in a customer’s own environment,” Ashkenazy says. “This has been proven to increase conversion, accelerate the sales cycle and minimize product returns.”
However, because this is new technology, McCollister says one of the biggest challenges they faced was the price. That’s why they’ve started small and will build from there. “As the technology matures, I predict the prices will come down,” she says. “I think our program will result in more sales, hopefully to the point where the cost is worth it.
And while McCollister thinks this is viewed as a technology “for the big guys” right now, she feels that is changing. In three to five years’ time, she says it will be something that is expected by the consumer.
As for recommending it to other manufacturers, McCollister says, “I think the technology is inevitable, and I think it goes a long way to help ease a consumer’s mind when special ordering a product that’s not immediately available on the retail floor. Anything we can do to overcome objections on the
sales floor.”
Ashkenazy adds: “Businesses are becoming much more comfortable using 3D computer graphics (CG) to market their products. The quality of CG images are almost indistinguishable from photography and there are many efficiencies and cost savings in replacing traditional photography with 3D renderings. We believe the future of shopping for furniture will be powered by 3D content, and manufacturers like OW Lee are smart to get out ahead and prepare their libraries, catalog and collections for a 3D augmented world.”