What happens when one chair has thousands of possibilities?
Case study
Built for limitless customization
The Seating Shoppe's extensive library of materials, finishes and configurations demanded more than static product photography. Ikarus created a custom 3D configurator that lets customers explore, configure and visualize their seating in real time.
The Client
Seating Built Around Your Vision.
The Seating Shopee creates seating solutions for hospitality and food-service spaces, from restaurants to hotels to country clubs, cafes and event venues.
With a broad catalogue of chairs, bath stools, booths and tables, their product can be tailored across materials, finishes and configurations to meet the needs of each space.
A library this large needed more than a catalogue.
The challenge was making an extensive world of materials and configurations feel simple to explore.
THE SCALE OF CUSTOMIZATION
A product that doesn't stop at one version.
The Seating Shoppe builds seating around the needs of each project, rather than around a fixed specification. Customers can shape everything from upholstery and fabric to frame finish, colour and functional details - creating a product that fits the space, aesthetic and use case.
Customization is built into the process from specification to delivery. From dining and restaurant chairs to barstools, banquette seating and lounge pieces, each product can be adapted to the environment it is designed for.
UPHOLSTERY
Seat · In-back · Out-back
MATERIALS
Fabrics · Vinyls · Textures
FRAME
Wood · Metal · Finishes
DETAILS
Nailhead · Tufting
FUNCTION
Glides · Casters
The People Behind the Specification
The chair has to work for more than one person.
A hospitality seating project involves more than the person placing the order. Designers shape the visual direction. Architects consider how the seating fits the space. Purchasing teams evaluate specifications, quantity and value. And hospitality operators need the final product to perform in the environment it was designed for.
The Seating Shoppe serves this ecosystem across restaurants, hotels, country clubs, cafés, bars, banquet spaces and other commercial environments. Its role extends from the initial specification through design and delivery, bringing multiple stakeholders into the process.
INTERIOR DESIGNERS & ARCHITECTS
Materials, upholstery, color and finish need to align with the overall interior concept.
PROCUREMENT TEAMS
Consistency, durability, pricing, quantities and fulfillment become part of the decision.
HOSPITALITY OPERATORS
The seating needs to look right and withstand the demands of restaurants, hotels, clubs and other commercial spaces.
DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS
They help translate project requirements into the final product and order.
Observed Decision Patterns
Behind every seating specification is a series of choices from the way a chair looks and feels to how it performs in a demanding hospitality environment.
What will it look like in the space?
Buyers need to consider upholstery, colour, pattern, wood tone and frame finish and how those choices work together with the surrounding interior.
01
Will the final result look like I imagined?
When upholstery, frame, finish and options are selected separately, the buyer needs confidence that the finished combination will actually look right before committing to it.
07
Will it perform beyond the showroom?
Hospitality buyers need to think about durability, comfort, weight capacity, fire requirements, maintenance and long-term use.
06
04
How should the chair be finished?
Wood grain, powder coat and lacquer finishes create another layer of choice with some Seating Shoppe products offering 40+ finish options.
Which material is right?
Fabric or vinyl, grade, pattern, supplier and material characteristics can all influence the final specification.
02
05
What needs to change for the space?
Seat construction, handholds, ganging devices, glides, casters and other upgrades can change how the chair functions within a commercial environment.
THE VISUALIZATION GAP
How do you see the final combination before it's built?
Online, customers could explore individual materials, finishes and specifications. What was harder was seeing how those choices would come together as one finished chair.
REAL WORLD
Materials become tangible
Finishes can be compared
The complete chair can be understood
at a glance
DIGITAL WORLD
Materials become thumbnails
Finishes become swatches
Specifications become text
The final combination has to
be imagined
THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
A competitive advantage with a complexity problem.
The Seating Shoppe’s depth of customization is a competitive advantage but every additional material, finish and specification adds another decision to the buying journey. The opportunity was to make that complexity easier to navigate, visualize and turn into a confident product specification.
500+
PRODUCT CONFIGURATIONS
Hundreds of seating combinations across different models, styles and specifications.
3,000+
FABRICS & VINYLS
An extensive material library gives customers flexibility across colour, texture and application.
60+
FRAME FINISHES
Multiple wood, metal and finish options allow each piece to align with the project's design direction.
20+
OPTIONS & UPGRADES
Handholds, tufting, nailhead, welted details, glides, casters and other functional specifications add another layer of choice.
The Seating Shoppe’s made-to-order approach gives hospitality and food-service businesses extensive control over how their seating is specified. But as the number of materials, finishes and product details grows, so does the amount of information customers and sales teams need to navigate before reaching a final specification.
The opportunity was to reduce that friction helping customers understand their options faster, visualize the final product and move from exploration to enquiry with greater confidence.
#
34%
CONFIGURATION DROP-OFF
#
18–25 min
SALES CLARIFICATION TIME
#
22%
SALES CLARIFICATION TIME
THE SOLUTION
The product became the interface
The Seating Shoppe's extensive material and finish library needed an experience that could keep up with its depth of customization. Ikarus built a custom 3D configurator that lets customers explore, configure and visualize their seating in real time.
Every layer of the chair can be configured.
Go beyond upholstery with configurable handholds, tufting, nailhead and welted treatments, along with the finishes that complete each detail.
Details
Glides & Casters
Fabric Selection
Frame Finishes
THE SOLUTION
The product became the interface
The Seating Shoppe's extensive material and finish library needed an experience that could keep up with its depth of customization. Ikarus built a custom 3D configurator that lets customers explore, configure and visualize their seating in real time.
Real-Time Configuration
Customers can change fabrics, frame finishes and product options directly on the chair. Every selection updates the 3D product visualization instantly.
Interactive 3D Product Viewer
The interactive 3D viewer lets customers rotate, zoom and inspect the product in detail, creating a clearer understanding of the final chair before purchase.
Material & Finish Library
The Seating Shoppe's extensive material library brings fabrics, vinyls, wood finishes and powder coats into the configuration experience, making it easier to explore and compare options.
Custom Upholstery
Customers can independently specify the seat, in-back and out-back, giving them greater control over upholstery, colour and material combinations across the chair.
Product Detailing
Handholds, tufting, nailhead, welted treatments and other upholstery details can be configured as part of the final product specification.
Complete Product Specification
The 3D configurator brings materials, finishes, upholstery & functional options together, allowing to visualize the complete specification before committing to it.
“We’ve always believed customization is part of what makes our products different. Ikarus helped us turn that complexity into an experience that feels intuitive, visual and effortless for the customer.”
— The Seating Shoppe
See what Ikarus Delta can do for Your Business
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