Working closely with Habufa, a major European furniture manufacturer, we developed a 3D room planner. This case describes the creation of this room planner and its integration with our iONE360 visual product configurator. We highlight the points where the application stands out from the competition and the added value to the customer. We also like to share here the first (commercial) results.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
COMPANY PROFILE
-
- International furniture manufacturer
- Family business since 1968
-
- Over 100,000 m2 of retail space
- over 450 employees worldwide
-
- Four diverse furniture concepts
- Assortment with over 25,000 items
The world and our lives are becoming more “digital” by the day. This also shifts the consumer’s decision moment in the customer journey up to the digital environment. In addition, the end user is placing increasingly high demands on the product information available. They also look for products that reflect their lifestyle and tastes. How do we respond to these changes? How do we help our dealers continue to count in the coming years in an increasingly demanding market. How do we make our products even more marketable for sellers and increase our market share?
Habufa’s four living formulas (from left to right): Henders & Hazel, Xooon, Happy at Home and Coco Maison (source: Habufa)
Submission
Habufa was looking for a way to fully visualize and configure the entire product line of their two major brands interactively and in 3D using the iONE360 visual product configurator. In addition, Habufa wanted a solution to combine multiple customizable 3D models in one room, allowing you to decorate an entire living room. In other words:
design a 3D room planner in which customers can combine and configure multiple pieces of furniture and accessories in a digital copy of their own living room
.
Additional requirements regarding the 3D room planner:
-
- A lightweight, web-based solution that runs on all devices
- The result should be as realistic as possible. This applies both to the products themselves and to the visualization of spaces.
- The room planner should also be suitable for people with little or no computer experience.
- Item logistics data must be correct so that customers can actually order the products
- Consumers should be able to order the items shown in the room planner separately, as well as as as complete furnishings.
- Design a future-proof platform that can respond to ever-changing product offerings, changing fabric samples, material options, etc.
- Gather data from our customers so that we can take stock of which models and configurations are popular, and based on that, identify trends (e.g., most chosen versions) and eventually even have the ability to adjust our production accordingly.
- Develop all required 3D images (both of the models and materials)
Goals
- Delight our customers with an unparalleled shopping experience
- Support our dealers to keep up with digital transformation
- Help our vendors sell our products
- Increase our market share, increase sales
- Strengthen our brands
"Furniture is an emotive product. That's why it's always exciting to determine: does this really fit my living room?"
Nicole van Riel - concept manager Xooon
Solution
The challenge was to develop a 3D room planner that surpasses all others. A solution that anyone can work with, even without any architectural knowledge or experience. First, that requires a tool that is very user-friendly and allows you to work very intuitively. But also to an application that is very accessible. So we needed to develop a 3D application that could be launched directly from the browser, and did not require a separate app to be downloaded. Moreover, the application had to be able to run properly on all common devices. An additional challenge here was balancing accessibility and performance with quality and reality.
We also found that in the area of “experience,” the results of many other room planners left much to be desired. Even if the space was correct in terms of dimensions, it often didn’t feel like your “own space. One reason for this was that floors and walls had to be selected from a standard image library. No matter how extensive that library is, the choices rarely if ever match the wallpaper you have at home or the tiles on your floor. Moreover, we discovered that what makes a space “your space” is largely related to the view you have from your room.
That’s why we have built into our room planner the ability to upload your own photos and images to “color” the walls, floors and doors to your liking. It is even possible to paste photos “behind” the windows so that the view from the digital space matches the view in reality.
>>
The most important application of this room planner, however, is that it is possible to select furniture, place it in the room and then Ãn the room planner configure and customize the furniture to the desired shape and finish. Indeed, the main purpose of the room planner is to help the end user bridge the imagination gap by visualizing how the piece of furniture he or she has put together looks and fits into their own space.
To achieve this, we developed a catalog very similar to what we are used to on ecomm platforms. This allows users to search and select furniture in a way that is familiar to them. We then made it possible to place multiple configurable products in one 3D space, where each piece of furniture can be configured individually. The ability to see multiple pieces of furniture, in the desired design and dimensions, combined in one space is a completely new shopping experience for consumers
"With the Roomplanner, putting together
of your interior really an experience."
Nicole van Riel - Habufa | concept manager XOOON
>>
As icing on the cake, and also to remove any remaining doubt, we have added all kinds of additional functions that allow the customer to get the most optimal and realistic picture of the final product. This also allows the room to be viewed from above to optimize the spatial layout, and it is possible to move through the room from a “first-person viewpoint.
Thanks to the use of breakthrough technologies such as webVR, users can even view their newly designed and decorated space directly from the browser and in Virtual Reality. Although currently still a beta version, this application does show how powerful and versatile the room planner is.
Finally, we have added features to save and reload projects, both in the cloud and locally. When projects are stored in the cloud, the user is given a simple access code that can be saved and shared with family and friends. We even guarantee that saved projects remain available even after a long time, regardless of changes in collections (e.g. certain options or models are no longer in the collection). A lot of time and thought was deliberately put into this application, as it is not inconceivable that clients will return after months or even years to make adjustments to the design or layout of their room(s). Imagine how valuable it is when the customer knows that a ready-made digital file of their living room is readily available in your store! So who wouldn’t start their (new) quest here?
The numbers
- More than 1,000 configurable product models
- Estimated number of possible variants: more than 50 million (50,000,000+)
- More than 600 fabrics available in 3D
- Hundreds of accessories and home decorations
>>
Result
After a successful pilot phase with about 10 stores, MyRoomPlans was initially rolled out across about 100 stores in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, MyRoomPlans is operational in some 250 stores in Benelux and France. Feedback from vendors in the various stores has been very positive. Even people who called themselves “digibeet” had mastered the room planner within hours. This proves that we managed to keep the ease of use very intuitive and simple. By ensuring that all vendors can get out of the application, MyRoomPlans is more likely to be embraced collectively, which encourages working with the program. Indeed, there are now vendors who prefer working with the Habufa formulas over other brands because they can display the products, including all the options, in 3D, both as a stand-alone product, but also within a room.
The first (commercial) results exceed every expectation. “The room planner is proven to lead to a higher conversion rate and larger orders,” said Frans Herman, commercial director of Habufa. “One store even reported 70% higher conversion rates among customers who had been introduced to the room planner. And thanks to the up- and cross-selling capabilities of the roomplanner, the average order value multiplies. Customers who come into the store for a sofa sometimes decide to completely redecorate their room, thanks in part to the Roomplanner.”
"The results of the Roomplanner are already very positive. But there are plenty of opportunities to make the tool even more perfect. It's great to work on that together."
Frans Herman - Habufa | commercial director
What customers say about us
Why did you choose us?
“We were looking for a partner with proven and successful software products. A stable partner with the ambition to grow and develop further in our industry with innovative software solutions that can lead us through the digital transformation.”
How do you experience cooperation?
“Colijn IT is personal, passionate and effective, with far-reaching knowledge of our industry and clear project objectives.”
What will you find at Colijn IT that you won’t find at other providers?
“The personal way of working together, combined with the ambition to develop software that on the one hand improves organizational processes, and on the other hand contributes to improving our commercial activities and goals.”
What are your findings so far?
“Over the past five years, we have taken on several challenging projects together. All of these projects have now been successfully completed or are in the completion phase.”
What do you hope to achieve with this collaboration?
“Better and more efficient collaboration within our dealer network. With the new 3D room planner, we have a powerful tool in our hands that will allow us to bring more customers to the stores, which will result in higher conversion and more sales.”
THE BENEFITS OF THE 3D ROOM PLANNER
up to 70%
more conversion
thanks to the use of MyRoomPlans
higher order value
thanks to up- and cross-selling opportunities
from 100 to
250 stores
in the Netherlands, Belgium and France within 1 year
Want to learn more about the features of the 3D Roomplanner?
Curious about the many features of the Roomplanner and 3D product configurator? If so, please contact one of our specialists. We’d love to see what we can do for you.
