What was your favorite piece of furniture growing up in your parent’s house? Maybe it was a reclining lazy boy, or perhaps the well-used family couch, crowded and squeezed into your living room. Regrettably, after a couple of decades, even the most reliable and comfortable pieces of furniture need to replaced time to time. The furniture industry has changed remarkably over the years, and with it, the shopping experience. Furniture shopping traditionally is more about the experience. (When there’s a sofa in Costco, can you resist the urge to try it out?) Most furniture retailers delivered, and if the purchase was unsatisfactory, many accepted returns.
However, today, the furniture industry has entered the online shopping arena. While customer reviews may help prospective buyers determine the quality of a purchase, many agree it’s a hit or miss purchasing online. The color might be off, the material made of a lesser quality, or perhaps the item wasn’t the size you expected. It can be frustrating and time-consuming to return large sized furniture, and sometimes, customers end up settling with furniture they regret purchasing. The result: distraught product reviews.
As the number of growing purchases for furniture increases, many find augmented reality (AR) a key tool to help make purchase decisions. And customers love it!
Here are some ways that augmented reality is changing the furniture online shopping experience:
Augmented Reality Showcases the products in an enticing manner
AR takes the furniture shopping experience to the next level. Using augmented reality, furniture retailers can effectively showcase their products to the prospective buyers. The technology enables customers to see how a particular piece of furniture from multiple angles and dimensions. An immersive experience with AR is likely to beat the competition because brands using AR have successfully added value. Interactive and innovative shopping tools generate word-of-mouth publicity, which fuels the business growth.
Augmented reality Enhances the customer experience
Augmented reality not only allows customers to visualize the new furniture, but also envision the entire room. Different AR apps allow customers to instantly stage new furniture items and drop in an entire range of furniture in their virtual living room. Customers can render the room from any angle and decide whether the furniture is appropriate according to the lights, structure, and space of the room. Customers also see how a potential new piece with preexisting furniture in the room, which is useful when considering space, colors and texture contrast. Augmented reality successfully delivers a unique, virtual “try before you buy” shopping experience.
Personalize the product offering
Today, customers look for furniture which suits their taste, but hiring the expertise of an interior designer can be costly. Augmented reality provides personalized product offering and gives the retailer a chance virtually design their dream home. With AR, it is possible to change the look of an environment and renew the product selection based on their preference.
To keep pace with the innovative technology, retailers need to focus on augmented reality to stay in the furniture industry.
