Digital Experiences: 3D eCommerce

The intersection of two hot technologies is creating an exciting new category of solution and experience for online shoppers (which after nearly 18 months of Covid lockdown is a great percentage of the population, in the developed world anyway). Both trends, 3D modeling and augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR), have been around for some time. 3D modeling is used across product design, architecture, engineering and construction, building management, game design and animation very successfully. AR is seeing a broad range of business applications in warehouse management / logistics and other areas. VR is somewhat less widely used, mostly seen in video gaming, although other applications are starting to emerge as well.

The past 18 months and the lockdown / Covid response accelerated the move to online commerce. That was essential for people trying to protect themselves by limiting exposure to crowds, and also for businesses that lost their face-to-face customers. The more dependent companies are on eCommerce to build the best customer experience (CX), the more that the complete digital experience becomes mission critical (or more critical for many businesses). If you’re looking for a competitive advantage relative to the digital customer experience though, there are a limited number of levers you can pull. Things like site performance, integrated processes, a responsive eCommerce platform, stellar customer service, embedded communications on the customers’ terms, etc.; are important to optimize the complete digital experience, but once they’re done, what else can you do? To find that competitive edge, look to what is missing from the online commerce experience. It might be hard to remember the experience at this point, but there was a time when we derived pleasure in seeing an item in person to make a purchase decision. If there was a way to recreate at least some of the experience of in person shopping online, how much better would the overall digital shopping experience feel?

The Growth of 3D eCommerce

The emergence and rapid growth of 3D or visual eCommerce experiences across the past year is changing online shopping and creating new expectations from prospects and customers. The combination of 3D and AR/VR technologies have the ability to create interactive and immersive online shopping experiences that dramatically improve engagement, conversion and satisfaction. According to a recent research report from Salesforce, 80% of customers say the experiences provided by a company are as important to them as its products and services. Experiences matter and are a big part of building digital trust. In the same Salesforce report 95% of respondents reported that their trust in a company makes them more likely to remain loyal to that brand.

Providing 3D eCommerce requires a platform that seamlessly integrates with your eCommerce platform, is built on 3D models of your products and, depending on the complexity and configurability of your product, provides a 3D configurator to help customers visualize and select their “customized” purchase. So in the simplest implementation the 3D eCommerce platform provides interactive 3D models of your product on the front end website / eCommerce platform, but also can activate a 3D configurator if needed. To see a good example of the models and configurator in action check out LoveSac’s implementation here which is built using the ThreeKit 3D eCommerce platform.

Providing the 3D Experience

Any 3D / AR enabled online experience begins with high quality 3D models. Creating the assets can be done using 3D modeling technology, photogrammetry or laser scanning. and needs to be optimized for responsive web use in multiple file formats. When selecting a 3D eCommerce platform consider these factors:

• Cloud based

• Image quality, supports high visual fidelity models that are photo-real

• Centralized 3D asset management and distribution

• Self-service capabilities for ease and economy of ongoing use

• Supports responsive design to cover all potential customer end device viewing options

• Integrations to all major eCommerce platforms and a REST API to support integration to custom solutions

• Integrations to major CRM, ERP, PIM/PLM and CPQ systems

• Scalable to support a full product catalog with all the configuration permutations and sales volumes

• Complex parametric configurator that supports nested configurations

• AR/VR capabilities

• Supports customer personalization (“in my space”, uploaded images, etc.)

• Embedded analytics

3D eCommerce provides customers elevated experiences and increases your competitive edge. Bridging the gap between in person and online is more important than ever, as the past 18 months have demonstrated. As consumers, while much more experienced online shoppers, we also have much higher expectations now. The 3D experience is essential for meeting those expectations.

Interested in a 3D eCommerce platform for your online business? We can help find the right solution for your specific needs.