Tailoring your merchandise to shoppers by way of personalization can improve engagement and enhance retention. A 2024 Deloitte study discovered that round 75% of shoppers favor manufacturers that supply personalization, and so they spend practically 40% extra with these manufacturers.
You encourage that further spend by providing clients an opportunity to take part within the design course of. Offering customization choices and a high-quality product configurator invitations shoppers to let you know what they want, so you possibly can ship on particular person expectations and collect priceless shopper intelligence. Right here’s what product configurators are, how they profit companies, and 5 options to search for in your personal.
What’s a product configurator?
A product configurator is a software program instrument that clients can use to change merchandise throughout the on-line ordering course of. The instrument shows customization choices, calculates ultimate product prices, and generates visible representations of completed merchandise,permitting clients to experiment with designs and buy personalised merchandise.
Key options of a product configurator
Not all product configurators are the identical—and the best choice for your corporation will depend on your product kind, price range, and enterprise wants. Listed below are options to search for as you consider choices:
Person-friendly interface
An intuitive product configurator may help clients construct belief in your organization and encourage them to discover your product catalog. A clunky instrument can harm your model fame. Even probably the most motivated clients might be turned away by a complicated configuration course of.
Search for a instrument that outlines customization choices, makes it simple to use or change picks, and helps clients produce high-quality ultimate designs. For significantly advanced merchandise, contemplate instruments that stroll clients by the product customization course of in steps and filter accessible choices primarily based on their compatibility with a buyer’s earlier picks.
Worth calculation options
Product configuration instruments calculate the overall product value primarily based on a buyer’s decisions. Select between dynamic and static choices: Dynamic instruments replace merchandise value in actual time, and static ones present a quote as the ultimate step of the customization course of.
Contemplate dynamic pricing in order for you clients to see how their decisions have an effect on the ultimate product value. For instance, a customized armchair would possibly leap from $800 to $1,400 when a buyer selects leather-based upholstery however drop to $1,100 after they go on the included ottoman.
Then again, static pricing conceals the connection between particular person picks and complete value, and retailers usually use it for extra advanced pricing constructions. Withholding a quote till the top of the method may help companies keep away from complicated shoppers with counterintuitive value fluctuations.
Product visualization instruments
on-line product configurator helps clients envision what they’re buying. Your wants will rely on what you promote: A service-based enterprise would possibly use icons to signify chosen add-ons, whereas a high-end jeweler would possibly spend money on 3D product models and augmented reality views.
If look is a significant promoting level on your product, search for a instrument that helps dynamic visualization. As a substitute of producing one ultimate preview picture, these instruments replace a base product mannequin in actual time, encouraging clients to experiment with kinds and permitting them to combine visible suggestions into the design course of.
Integrations
Choose product configurator software program that integrates together with your on-line retailer and checkout system. For instance, apps like Custom Product Builder and Kickflip enable Shopify shops to supply easy customization choices, and instruments like Threekit present full 3D and AR visible customization. Search for instruments suitable with a number of platform sorts, together with stock and provide chain administration programs, customer relationship management (CRM) instruments, and ERP programs.
These integrations can cut back administrative labor, optimize stock administration, and retailer details about buyer preferences, serving to you fulfill buyer orders effectively and enhancing future gross sales and advertising and marketing efforts.
Design validation
Product configurators information clients towards suitable customizations and guarantee you possibly can produce a buyer’s designs. You possibly can create configuration guidelines whenever you arrange your instrument. For instance, you would possibly specify {that a} stool can have three or 4 legs, however not roughly, and never three and 4 directly.
Some superior configurators additionally use product information to generate efficiency projections, equivalent to how a lot electrical energy a customized vary will use in a 12 months or what number of tons of product a warehouse shelving system can help.
Advantages of utilizing a product configurator
Listed below are among the methods by which a product configurator can profit a enterprise and its clients:
Decreased barrier to buy
Product configurators present clear pricing and assist clients visualize customized merchandise—each elements that may decrease the barrier to buy. Superior visualization methods like 3D product modeling and AR can show significantly useful in case you promote merchandise supposed for sure areas, cost upmarket costs, or don’t settle for returns.
A jeweler would possibly use 3D modeling to let a would-be bride or groom scrutinize a customized engagement ring from all angles, for instance, and a house items retailer would possibly use AR to let customers view customized furnishings of their houses.
Greater buyer satisfaction
Research shows that clients count on personalised experiences, reward corporations that supply them by making purchases, and expertise frustration when these expectations aren’t met. Product configurators can improve buyer satisfaction by offering an environment friendly, user-friendly customization course of and making certain that clients perceive what they’ll obtain. Additionally they present priceless information about buyer wants and preferences you need to use to personalize future advertising and marketing methods.
Decreased lead time
Configurators can pace up the customized product buying course of, serving to you shut extra gross sales and effectively ship completed merchandise. A handbook course of requires clients to attend for quotes from a gross sales division earlier than inserting customized orders. Quotes can take a number of days—sufficient time for a buyer to lose enthusiasm for a purchase order or go for a faster-moving competitor.
Product configurators present immediate quotes, permitting clients to proceed with orders instantly. Design validation and computerized order creation may also pace up the manufacturing course of. These assist you to keep away from expensive errors by lowering the chance of human error throughout the design course of and making certain that new buyer orders instantly enter the manufacturing queue.
Elevated operational effectivity
Configurators save time and decrease prices, serving to you stretch your corporation sources additional. As a substitute of continually engaged on quotes, gross sales reps can deal with bigger enterprise and advertising and marketing objectives, like incomes extra top-of-funnel leads, creating current accounts, or pursuing higher-value prospects. It’s also possible to use integrations to cut back administrative labor and optimize inventory management and advertising and marketing processes.
Elevated buyer engagement
Creating new designs is enjoyable. That’s why we’ve got LEGO, paper dolls, and seemingly infinite Fortnite skins. Enabling clients to experiment with designs provides leisure worth to the client expertise, encouraging engagement together with your merchandise and model.
Providing an interesting procuring expertise may also encourage referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. Potential clients don’t must be energetic consumers to construct optimistic associations together with your model that may result in gross sales later. Some corporations additionally invite clients to share their completed designs on social media, which may additional improve consciousness of your model.
Efficient product configurator examples
Many ecommerce companies use configurators for customized or made-to-order merchandise. Listed below are two product configurator examples:
Scout Design Studio
Texas-based Scout Design Studio sells new and classic furnishings, artwork, and lighting from an 18,500-square-foot warehouse within the Dallas Design District. Its on-line product configurator makes use of 3D modeling and dynamic visualization to permit clients to configure merchandise from its customized line, Scout Bespoke. The configurator provides a number of product views and high-quality photographs for greater than 20,000 product variations.
Veneta Blinds
Australian blind and shutter retailer Veneta Blinds provides customized window fittings, permitting clients to customise components like supplies, colours, match kind, and management mechanism. It provides 5 blind sorts and sizes to purchaser specs, utilizing a multistep product configurator to assist navigate billions of product variations—744 billion per product kind, to be exact.
The configurator supplies fundamental product visualizations and guides clients by a nine-step decision-making course of by displaying related customization choices at every step. The configurator shows value info twice—as soon as upfront, itemizing the minimal value of every blind kind, and once more on the ultimate stage after a buyer enters precise specs for peak and width.
Product configurator FAQ
What’s the distinction between product customization and configuration?
Some companies distinguish between customization and configuration, referring to merchandise with pre current customization choices as configurable and merchandise constructed to a buyer’s specs as custom-made. Ecommerce companies can use web site product configurators to promote configurable merchandise, however the gross sales course of for absolutely customized merchandise sometimes includes direct communication with a gross sales rep.
What’s an instance of a configure-to-order product?
Many furnishings retailers promote configurable merchandise. Scout Design Studio, for instance, sells configurable desks, beds, tables, chairs, and residential accents, permitting clients to customise the dimensions, colour, and finishes.
Which industries use product configurators?
Product configurators are standard in industries with variation-rich merchandise, together with the furnishings business, automotive business, and style business.
