When it comes to home retail, the aim of the game is to ensure the consumer feels like they are in the driver’s seat at all times.
Today’s consumers want to be in control. From the brands they purchase from to designs they pick for their homes; they want to manage the entire experience from end to end. In-store planning technology has traditionally made that easier, becoming an integral part of the flexibility consumers have grown to rely on when laying out their design choices and bringing their ideas to life. But, as times have changed and expectations have too, so has the importance of this technology and the willingness among consumers to accept a second-rate solution.
For home retailers, that means their current planning platform could be doing more harm than good. But what are the warning signs of a poorly performing solution, and what should retailers look for when it comes to a planning technology that is built with the user experience in mind?
Perfecting the Design-It-Yourself Experience
pdf - 734.55 KBInvesting in platform success
Delivering a great user experience is far more nuanced in 2020 than it was a decade ago. It’s no longer a race to the bottom on price. In fact, get the experience right and 86% of consumers are willing to pay more. Instead, when it comes to home retail, the aim of the game is to ensure the consumer feels like they are in the driver’s seat at all times.
Research shows that experience-driven companies have customers that spend nearly two-times more per average order than those that don’t. This extends to all facets of the retail experience but nowhere is it more apparent than with planning technology. By design, these solutions should put consumers in control. But the degree of control that consumers have come to expect has changed in recent years, and this is where retailers risk coming unstuck if their existing solution isn’t up to scratch.
Relying on a planning platform that offers a subpar user experience, or – even worse – no visualization solution at all, can greatly impact the bottom line. It’s no good having an offering that consumers can’t engage with and that doesn’t help them to bridge the imagination gap when redesigning their homes. This means legacy platforms that can only be used by trained staff using in-store computers are out. Equally, a platform that has to be manually updated, doesn’t reflect current stock levels, is slow and complex to operate, or becomes a time sink for consumers that do attempt to get to grips with it, will result in frustration. In turn, that’ll start the customer-retailer relationship off on the wrong foot – if indeed they make a purchase at all.
You can forget about platforms that offer limited personalization, too. It is widely recognized that personalization has become the building block for creating a user experience that consumers will stick around for, and data suggests almost half of consumers will purchase through a competitor if it isn’t up to scratch. All things considered, then, this means the planning platform needs to be able to take advantage of customer insights and other data sets to deliver individual offerings – again, taking steps to make the consumer feel like they are in control at all times.
Perfecting the design-it-yourself experience
So, what does a good planning solution look like? Well, it needs to be built on 3D design to start. But it also requires several other features in order to appease consumer demand and deliver on the caliber of design-it-yourself experience they have come to expect.
#1 Help consumers visualize
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s especially true when it comes to visualizing what a redesigned room in the home will look like. Advanced 3D planning solutions, such as HomeByMe for Home Retailers, features photo-like product renderings that create more realistic designs. The benefit of this is two-fold: not only does it help encourage faster decision-making, as customers can better imagine the products they are looking to buy in a 3D modeled version of their own home, but it also helps guide them towards products that would pair well together, which creates additional cross-selling and upselling opportunities.
The latest solutions enable home retailers to enhance the user experience by creating pre-built design sets. This creates a starting point to better immerse customers in the 3D planning solution. It encourages deeper personalization as they swap out products from those pre-built sets to meet their needs, and creates additional data points that can be used for further personalization efforts down the line.
#2 Deliver omnichannel convenience
It’s important to remember that while consumers crave control over their home design experience, they also want flexibility. And that means being able to access a home retailer’s 3D planning platform from anywhere, and at any time, regardless of whether their journey starts online or in-store.
The latest platforms take an omnichannel approach to 3D planning, which plays an important role in creating a low-pressure sales environment where consumers feel empowered. They can still seek validation of their designs and feedback from staff in-store, but they can begin that journey in a relaxed home setting – only coming into the store when they’re ready to buy.
By implementing the right 3D planning solution, drain on staff resources can be greatly minimized. At the same time, since 3D planning technology represents a bridge between a retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores and their digital presence, it’s an ideal platform through which to communicate stock information. When consumers pick a product to include in their designs, they can be given an immediate update on whether it’s available. By providing accurate information in this way it’s possible to reduce customer churn and limit frustration, thereby enhancing the experience.
#3 Instill time-saving benefits
Customers are willing to work things out for themselves when it comes to designing the home of their dreams. 91% of them say they would use a tailored online knowledge base if it would give them more control over their own purchasing decisions and the user experience. Advanced 3D planning solutions can further address this, saving consumers – and retailers – time by enabling this to happen inside the platform.
Personalized guides, communications and other educational materials that will help each consumer turn their unique idea into reality can be shared directly within – and as a result of – the 3D design solution. When combined with in-depth product information, not only does this help to further enhance the user experience by enabling them to feel fully informed about their buying decisions, it also cuts down on the likelihood of returns and facilitates ongoing engagement.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that planning solutions are an increasingly integral part of the home retail design experience. But as no two planning technologies are the same, it’s important to invest in the right one to meet the needs and expectations of consumers today. Getting this right instills the design-it-yourself approach that consumers want while also bringing them closer to the brand they’re shopping with, creating a win-win for all involved. Particularly for home retailers, taking this approach with 3D planning technology will translate into an accelerated customer purchase journey and, in turn, a bolstered bottom line.
Perfecting the Design-It-Yourself Experience
pdf - 734.55 KB
