Build A 3D Product Configurator

August 21, 2024

How Does A 3D Product Configurator Work and What Are Its Benefits?

It might seem complicated to create something that fits every user's need, even before making the product. But given the opportunity, would you want them to see what the actual product would look like? It is exciting to see a product from every angle and material.

How can you achieve this? With the help of 3D Product Configurator!

Make it customizable spectacles or an office chair with a unique headrest—all of which can be made possible with the help of a 3D Product Configurator.

Let's learn more about 3D Product Configurator and how to build one!

What is Product Configuration?

Product configuration is customizing and designing a product according to the customers' needs. They can choose all materials, textures, and colors and develop products to fit their needs. When you think about this, the only thing that should come to your mind is the customer satisfaction you’ll be able to provide.

Customers are starting to want more personalized products that match their daily lifestyle choices and aesthetics. This opens up a vast opportunity portal for businesses to grow. When it rains, it pours, and when customers are satisfied, it will also increase sales.

What is a 3D Product Configurator?

This tool lets you create customizable products in 3D and real-time, providing a 360-degree view. This technology allows your users to make their products look just how they want them to. The best part of a 3D product configurator is that customers get real-time output on screen. 3D models can also be zoomed in and out, disassembled, and assembled at the user’s preferences.

For example, a beige recliner chair with white antics or a blue chair with gold antics lets customers see it in cross-variation, offering them a much more creative and interactive shopping experience.

Features of a 3D Product Configurator

  1. Customization Experience
    When users have the option to customize a product, it enhances their window shopping experience. According to a recent report by Pro3DStudio, more than 80% of users have activated 3D product views. Consumers prefer 3D views more than any playback video of the product.
  2. Product Exploration
    A product configurator offers real-time color updates, allowing users to browse the catalog more creatively. For the customer's understanding, a 360-degree view of your product is much better than a 2D view.
  3. Enhanced Customer Experience
    When a user is provided with these many options to see and build a product of their liking, it engages the customer and increases the engagement on your website. More than 34% of the users spend 30 seconds on average if it is a 3D product view.
  4. Transparent Pricing
    With the customization offering, the pricing becomes transparent as the user can see precisely the amount they have to pay for the product they have built according to their liking. For example, when you order an iPad, you go through each stage, from selecting the model to choosing whether you want an Apple pencil, and then you see the price you must pay.
  5. Instant Inventory Checks
    While customizing their products, users can also see which products or customization options are available, which leads to smooth navigation through the inventory without having to search for them repeatedly.

How Does a 3D Product Configurator Work?

A 3D product configurator works on websites or apps in real-time to make products accessible. Before that, customization was available only for luxury items like cars and jewelry. With the advancement of 3D technology, it is now available to many other industries, like fashion, real estate planning, types of furniture, and many more. 

For example, if a customer uses a configurator on a website that customizes furniture, the first step is to select the furniture type. Then comes the size, where you can set the furniture height if the manufacturer has allowed it. The material's texture and color follow. Once the furniture is ready and according to their liking, you can turn it to every angle and see how it looks.

If the customer is still unsatisfied, they can repeat the process until they find one combination they love. Let’s be honest: Who doesn’t like making furniture as often as you want without wasting a penny on it? The fantastic part about this is that your customers can choose from a hundred different options until they find one that suits their needs the best, not almost, but entirely.

Benefits of Using a 3D Product Configurator

This technology will constantly evolve, and the benefits will improve with that. According to the McKinsey Report, more than 70% of customers expect product personalization. Companies that provide customization have seen a 40% increase in annual revenue reports compared to those that don’t.
This was just one of the few benefits of a 3D product configurator.

 For now, let’s look at some of the benefits: 

  1. Be Original
    Customers are more likely to express their original desires when given the choice of customization. Even with the e-commerce market being so competitive and easily accessible, people still want something uniquely theirs. Let the customers use their creativity on a product and see how it will boost your sales.
  2. The Engagement boost
    While the configurator enhances customer experience, it also boosts engagement on your website. Reports show that more than 30% of customers, on average, spend more than 25 seconds on a product if it provides them with a 3D view. Customers may spend more time on one product until it becomes their new favorite.
  3. Interact and Create
    When given the chance to make a product to their liking, users start visualizing how it would look in their place; they put a lot of thought into it. They interact with the product. Then, they create the best for themselves.
  4. No errors, no returns
    When users create a product with their own choices, the chances are less that they will not like it. If they like it, there are no returns. With the 3D product configurator, returns have been reduced by 35% for e-commerce websites.
  5. Increased Conversion Rates
    Websites with 3D configurators have shown an increase of more than 65% compared to 2D designs or video playbacks of any products. Audi has experienced a 9% increase in add-on feature selection, further driving its cart value. Audi commented that the 3D real-time experience drastically improved the experiences over the 2D.
  6. Increases Sustainability
    When your business has a fully compatible 3D Product Configurator, it increases sustainability. It reduces energy consumption by eliminating multiple photoshoots for single product configurations and prevents overproduction. 

How is a 3D Product Configurator Built?

A few things need to be followed while building a 3D Product Configurator.

  1. Defining the Product and Objective
    Know about your product so well that you can explain it to anyone and have the features laid out.
    While building a Product Configurator, the foremost thing to remember is what goals your configurator would serve to your customers. Clear, laid-out objectives pave a much more straightforward path.
  2. Finding the best Software
    You should choose software based on the business’s needs, the product, and the configuration requirements. Also, it must be integrated with various interfaces so the process is seamless.
  3. Preparation of the Model
    Make sure that all of the 3D models are up to the mark. Ensure they are optimized for online viewing without slowing the configuration process. Also, keep the files in high quality so they offer clean visibility.
  4. Development of the UI
    When developing a UI that supports the configurator, ensure it is intuitive and straightforward. Make it interactive so the users can be guided through the process smoothly without any bumps in the experience.
  5. Introduce Pricing into the System
    Make your system so that the pricing is enabled through each stage and seems easy to understand. One of the critical factors is to make it as transparent as possible, as in no hidden charges.
  6. Test and Deploy
    Before making the configurator live, test it with every possible scenario. If you encounter any problems, correct them before releasing it to the public.

What Elements Create an Exceptional Product Configurator?

A fantastic 3D Product Configurator can be customized according to business needs. This game-changing technology has also provided brands with excellent conversion rates and engagement. It needs to be quick and easy, regardless of the highly complex product, as the journey throughout the configurator should feel seamless.

Ikarus Delta’s Product Configurator is the state-of-the-art solution to all your configurator problems. The Configurator will be customized according to your requirements. It can also be integrated with different platforms like Shopify and Webflow.

The configurator also allows you to customize your product’s pricing, providing it through each step while adding a feature or functionality. Data security and IP protection are highly prioritized through the robust encryption system. Furniture to Fashion, this product configurator is an all-in-one solution for all your visualization problems.

Frequently asked questions