What is a product configurator?

• Types of product configurators.
• Where a product configurator is used?

Why the product configurator is important. 

• Advantages of product configurator.
• Disadvantages of product configurator.

How to develop a product configurator?

Conclusion

In the era of online shopping, customers expect an online shopping experience that is not worth, but sometimes is even superior to an actual brick-and-mortar store. It is taken for granted that user can look at the picture of the product they are about to order, often change colour and size from the pre-determined sizes. But it goes further with customers wanting to fully custom solution to their needs while shopping from the comfort and safety of their home: an up-close look at every product detail, material, size and form, adding own logo, sometimes incorporating own design to the product is now possible thanks to a product configurator.

What is a product configurator?

A product configurator is a digital technology that allows users to modify the characteristics or view customisable 2D or 3D models of the product in real-time. It can take many forms and provide multiple features from selecting the components while assembling own furniture, for example, or more simply changing the browsing product’s colour, size or material. The set of features mostly depends on the type of product that is being sold. 

 Types of product configurators

• Web-based product configurator

A web-based product configurator is a tool that is embedded mostly on e-commerce websites and provides users with opportunities to change product characteristics, design, style or components to understand what fits better in real-time. Kenner Soft Service GmbH as a professional web-based product configurator developer can state with certainty that it allows being ahead of the ever-changing customer needs and expectations about the searching product.  

Worth noting is that consumers can select the best variant for them and examine all the fine details thanks to 2D or 3D graphics while increasing their confidence about the item.

For example, the famous American corporation Nike provides the ‘Design Your Own’ function where the customer can choose the material and colour and watch the difference.

• Mobile product configurator

A mobile product configurator is an application that provides more complex options connected with customising products or services. It is mostly used in areas where a lot of thinking and planning are needed. For example, the design of the room, the porch or the manufacturing parts. A mobile product configurator is very useful when you need to demonstrate your product or service offline to the client or business.

• VR product configurator

A VR (virtual reality) product configurator is used to create an immersive virtual environment for customers to interact with a product, explore design in-depth and view true-to-scale product models. In such a way businesses can share their customisable products with the consumers. However, such technology needs a user to have special headsets to play virtual reality that is why it is mostly used in the points of sales where headsets can be provided. 

• AR product configurator

AR ( augmented reality) product configurator allows overlaying digital products over the real environment. It provides better visualization and deeper interaction. The main difference between AR and VR product configurators is that AR is developed as an application and can be played back just with a smartphone or iPad that are accessible for every person. For example, a German automotive manufacturer Porsche provides customers with an AR product configurator that can be downloaded from Google Play.

Where a product configurator is used?

There are a lot of industries such as:

• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Fashion design
• Interior design
• Architecture
• Automotive 
• Electronics

Why the product configurator is important. 

Advantages and Disadvantages

Thanks to the product configurator tool the business owners can directly address their potential clients with a message like “ Hello, we care about you. We created the greatest function to fade all your doubts about the product. Now, you can view all the smallest details, find your style, compare colours or materials, understand if it fits your purpose and lifestyle without leaving the apartment.”

A product configurator is directly related to e-commerce rapidly growing trends. The development of such a magic wand now is a step ahead. 64% of people age 18-34 desire customization according to Artifilabs.

Advantages of product configurator  

Confidence 

Customer’s confidence about the purchasing product is not an easy-achieving business goal. However, every lock will be opened if you have a key - a product configurator. Create your own configurator with features like 3D viewing that help to explore as many aspects of the product as possible and emphasize uniqueness. In such a way you leave no causes for doubts. According to Field Agent, 83% of US smartphone users found product images and photos to be "very" and "extremely" influential.  That means if the customer can configure a product and visualize it on the webshop page, this could be a powerful tool to persuade to order the product as it is now available in the format that is clear to users. 

Customising by yourself 

Not only helps to create a client's own design but also increases margins thanks to the emotional experience of product designing for yourself. 

1 out of every 5 customers is willing to pay 20% more for a personalised or exclusive product (Deloitte research). 

Reduce returns and refunds rates

As the buyer knows what he/she is going to get in the end, the need for returns and refunds subsides. By showing customers exactly what they're getting, brands are achieving an 80% reduction in online returns (Forbes).

Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty

Imagine yourself as a client who with no problem examined the purchasing item, remade it for his/herself and has no worries about the end product, won’t you be happy? 70% of consumers say a company’s understanding of their personal needs influences their loyalty (Salesforce).

Reducing the load on customer support 

As long as the user has an opportunity to interact with a product online in any way, customer support will get fewer clarifying questions and calls. Respectively, saving time and speeding up the purchase. Also, shoppers who view 3D images of products are 11 times more likely to purchase than those who don’t view them.  

Opens new business heights

While the return and refund rates are declining, the key business indicators like ROI and profit are growing. As a product configurator solves e-commerce sales problems like product interactivity, content quality, communication, customer engagement, it has a fast payback period and positively influences valuable metrics.  

For example, companies that replaced 2D static images on 3D models based on WebGL*, are achieving 40% higher online conversion rates and a 30% improvement in average sales prices (Forbes).

WebGL - is a JavaScript API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser.

Disadvantages of product configurator

High implementation costs

Product configurator development and implementation is not a cheap pleasure. The price will depend on the type of the configurator and the number or complexity of included features ( of course VR or AR configurators will cost much more than web-based product configurators). The good news is that it has a fast payback period as was mentioned above. The approximate price range starts from 10 000$ and can reach millions of dollars.

Price and delivery time increasing

The development and implementation of a product configurator can impact products’ prices and delivery time. However, it is not a problem if you show your customers that the product configurator is nothing else than a premium client service. Especially, when some people are ready to pay more for such a personalisation tool.

How to develop a product configurator?

It is increasingly important to choose the right way while starting the development of a product configurator. If you do not have enough internal resources that allow you to correctly determine and realise the most suitable features for your e-commerce website, do not risk. Otherwise, you will lose money, time and get no result. Choose a software development company that not only has strong expertise but also can advise you in making the right decision in your e-commerce field. Kenner Soft Service GmbH combines both things while having years of experience which we want to share in order to partly show the development process.

Conclusion

A product configurator is an excellent and modern tool for every e-commerce business. Even though an advanced configurator with various options, AI-enabled, allowing customers a fully customizable experience might require significant budget and time, such technology will surely have a great return on investment even in a relatively short time. Besides, investing in a product configurator company stays one step ahead of the competition, while providing unparalleled customer experience and service. It is essential, however, to have a clear strategy while defining what the configurator must achieve and which company to trust with such an important development.