Creating Digital Content: The Challenges and Benefits
The internet has opened up a world of possibilities for businesses to sell their products online. However, creating customized digital content for each product can be tedious and time-consuming. For companies selling customizable products like furniture, pools, saunas, or other complex configurable products, creating digital assets for every possible option simply isn’t feasible. This is where technologies like 3D configurators and augmented reality can make a big difference.
Traditionally, creating customized 3D models and renderings for customizable products took a lot of manual effort. A designer would have to create 3D models in a program like Sketchup for each variation of a product. Want to see what a couch looks like in leather or fabric? That’s another 3D model. What about if it’s a 2-seater vs 3-seater? Yep, more modeling required. As you can imagine, this process gets exponentially more complex as customization options increase.
Automating Digital Content with 3D Configurators
The amount of time and cost required to manually generate digital assets for every product variant just isn’t sustainable, especially for small businesses. This is where 3D configurators come in. 3D configurators allow customers to visually customize a base 3D model by selecting different textures, colors, styles, and components. The configurator then automatically generates a 3D rendering on the fly based on the options selected.
For example, a furniture company could create a base 3D model of a couch. The configurator would then allow customers to pick the fabric, change the color, adjust dimensions, add pillows, etc. You can try out our seating configurator live here. As the customer explores different configurations, the 3D model updates in real-time to match their selections. This allows endless customizations without having to manually model each iteration, which enables quick generation of personalized quotes.
3D configurators aren’t just fun for customers, they can greatly simplify ecommerce for businesses. The customizable 3D models significantly reduce the number of product images and descriptions needed. This streamlines product creation and makes it easy to show all variations on a website. Configurators also allow for accurate pricing updates based on the options selected. This improves the quality of custom quotes and reduces human errors. You can learn more about how configurators can simplify the process of generating quotes here.
Enhance content visualization with Augmented Reality
Another exciting technology that can enhance product visualization is augmented reality. AR allows customers to view lifelike 3D models of products right in their own environment. Furniture and home decor ecommerce sites are starting to offer AR that let you virtually place items in your room. This gives you a much better sense of dimensions, style, and fit compared to traditional 2D images.
For example, our configurators let you walk around your living room while viewing a to-scale 3D model of a couch. You can view the couch from any angle and get a feel for how it fits the space. With a few taps, you can change the fabric or try a different couch model. This is far more intuitive than judging an item based on a finite set of product photos. Read more about our configurators.
Offering AR experiences is also great marketing for brands. The immersive visualization and convenience of AR apps provide a wow factor that you can’t get from normal images. It’s a flashy feature that helps businesses stand out while improving the online shopping experience.
Conclusion
Creating customizable digital content is one of the biggest challenges for ecommerce companies. Technologies like 3D configurators and augmented reality help simplify the process for both businesses and customers. Configurators reduce overhead for companies while enabling dynamic customization options that weren’t possible before. Meanwhile, AR allows customers to virtually place products in their own space for a more intuitive shopping journey. Together, these innovations are revolutionizing product visualization and streamlining online commerce.
