Wayfair is introducing Digital Design Studio, a patent-pending technology developed to bring the best of online and in-store shopping together, the company announced.
The Digital Design Studio is a kiosk that allows customers to create and interact with a variety of design layouts and view products in a digital 3D room at photorealistic quality. Design Studio is launching at Wayfair’s Dedham, MA AllModern store. The pilot Digital Design Studio technology provides customers shopping in the store a thoroughgoing omnichannel experience that affords them access to the larger digital catalog in life-like quality, Wayfair pointed out.
Customers shopping for their homes go online and view millions of products or shop in stores to view a curated selection. Wayfair conceived the Digital Design Studio as a way to merge the experiences and, so, help customers make the best possible product decisions, the company indicated. By providing them with interactive, 3D spaces, consumers can make choices based on accurate depictions of what the furnishings look like in various configurations and lighting conditions. Customers shopping in-store can move and place furniture cards and in that way create true-to-scale, virtual arrangements. They can also move the camera to zoom in on items, view a piece in a different fabric or finish, or view furniture from different perspectives.
The Digital Design Studio is a product of Wayfair’s research and development team, Wayfair Next, which examines and evaluates emerging technologies on a two-to-three-year horizon. In reference to the Digital Design Studio, Shrenik Sadalgi, Wayfair’s director of research and development, said, “As a technology-focused retailer, we are excited for shoppers to experience the pilot of our Digital Design Studio, learn from their feedback and evolve the offering to continue to create the best possible shopping experience for the home.”
Fiona Tan, Wayfair’s chief technology officer, stated. “Experimentation and innovation with an eye on improving the customer experience is at the heart of everything we do at Wayfair. Wayfair strongly believes in meeting our customers where they want to shop, whether online or in person. The Digital Design Studio helps us execute on this omnichannel experience, by making it easier for customers to find what they are looking for and ultimately have greater confidence and satisfaction in their purchase.”
