Continuing our series on augmented reality and its impact on how people are shopping, we now look at CB2 furniture. CB2’s AR works on selected items in its inventory and allows the customer to preview a piece of furniture in their space, an ability that more than 57% of those who had experienced AR requested. CB2’s Augmented Reality Furniture feature works through the regular website using the camera viewer on a mobile device, negating the need to download a separate app.
CB2’s Augmented Reality Furniture feature
When viewing a product page with a phone or tablet on CB2’s website, many have a “view in room” option under the header photo. After pointing the camera at the floor and moving it around to determine the area’s space, an image of the piece of furniture appears on the viewer (see below). Furniture stores tend to be large spaces, making it difficult for customers to judge how large a size will be in their homes. The ability to scale these pieces in their own spaces avoids later jamming a too-large couch or table into a small space.
Customer experience
Target, Amazon, and IKEA are among other retailers that have all added AR technology, some of which allows customers to customize the color, size, and details of furniture as they are viewed. The AR experience is not limited to home use, with many retailers suggesting it to their in-store customers to see additional options that may not be currently stocked. This increases consumer engagement with the product—already 80% of in-store customers report looking up product information, prices, and reviews while shopping. Viewing online stock through AR while shopping in-store is just another way to improve the customer shopping experience.
Our testers mentioned that not all items at cb2.com offered the “view in room” option, however it is useful to “see” the item in your home: “This is a great way to see how furniture and accessories looked in my house without the added pressure of buying something and realizing once it arrives that it doesn’t fit in your space.”
Conclusion
Of course, the technology can always be improved: “It’s nice to see furniture in your house, but the scaling/format and adjusting is a little clunky. However, it’s nice to see that the couch that looks so small in a warehouse store will not fit on your wall before you try to get it home.” The customer experience can only get better from here!