Kosta Popov, CEO and founder, Cappasity, outlines why retailers need to get ahead of the curve in order to innovate, innovate and innovate and why they should pay attention to emerging 3D technologies.

By Kosta Popov, CEO and founder, Cappasity

We are now living in a time when customer expectations are changing particularly fast and retailers that can't keep up get left behind. If a consumer enjoys the online shopping experience at an e-store, he automatically begins to expect the same level of service from every virtual point of sales that he shops at.

Thus, the expectation loop is born and the only thing for retailers to do to get ahead of the curve is to innovate, innovate and innovate.

So let's take a look at emerging 3D technologies — the force poised to drive the revolution in the online shopping experience.

3D product imaging

While delivering a convenient browsing experience and a wider assortment that can be usually found in brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce still had limitations. It could not satisfy consumers’ desire to physically examine the product prior to purchase, nor could it mirror the in-store experience. At least it could not until now.

With 3D imaging, a retailer can provide customers with a graphical 3D product representation that offers an increased level of interactivity. A 3D View has no blind spots and, thus, leaves no room for concern about product authenticity. Zooming in or out, rotating the object, and viewing it in motion are just some of the features that 3D imaging has.

Some merchants see demo videos that show products in action as a way to enhance the online shopping experience, yet, according to the recent research, 95 percent of respondents prefer an interactive 3D representation to video playback. Engagement levels and interactivity are not the only metrics to be positively affected by 3D product imaging as it also boosts metrics that directly influence sales, with conversion rate being a prime example.

With 3D product imaging, TSUM, one of the largest luxury goods department stores in Eastern Europe, managed to increase its conversion rate by almost 40 percent for products in the shoes and bags categories. TSUM is the first company to have digitized over 40,000 products in 3D, proving that it is possible to visualize large numbers of stock keeping units (SKUs) in a reasonable timeframe.

Still, having the right tools is key as most solutions for 3D imaging are still facing three major weaknesses: they require a lot of costly equipment, take too much time and, consequently, do not work for large catalogs.

Another set of difficulties that retailers often face when digitizing products has to do with the inability of 3D modeling and 3D scanning to process some specific objects, yet, thanks to 3D imaging black, shiny, and glossy objects such as silks, leathers and jewelry items, anything transparent, unusually shaped or textured, all that is now no obstacle.

AI for customer behavior analysis

As of now, there's little to no doubt that the future of e-commerce lies within artificial intelligence (AI). From improving search capabilities to honing personalization and predictive recommendations, AI has proven itself an invaluable e-commerce assistant.

With emerging 3D technologies comes the data never seen before and now AI analytics tool can tool track the way potential customers interact with 3D images of products embedded into retailers’ websites and present the most important metrics via a heat map. The map shows dwell time, points of customer interest, the best angles for thumbnail product positioning — metrics that provide valuable insight to effectively manage products and assortment and boost sales.

With the insights gathered by AI, e-commerce merchants will be able to improve product visualization, choose pleasing color combinations, and put bestsellers at the forefront of their offerings. For instance, let's say, 200,000 customers while examining a certain item, zoomed in to see the zipper, – to a marketing team comfortable with making smart and quick conclusions this piece of information could prove decisive.

Digital signage as an entry gate into the digital shopping experience

In modern brick-and-mortar retail, a product purchase is not a core user activity. In fact, to customers physical shopping means participating in a community, having access to high-quality lifestyle experiences or benefiting from personalization. As the digital and the physical continue to merge, features belonging to both realms keep evolving. One such feature is digital signage.

While digital kiosks aren’t unknown to brick-and-mortar retail, digital signage of today offers additional interactivity, increased engagement levels and seamless omnichannel experience as any 3D imagery available to websites will also be accessible via digital installations.

Interactive kiosks showcase a selection of items on sale and, depending on the Digital Signage software provider, attract customers with different storytelling formats: some show product videos while others focus on 3D product imaging, both are interactive yet, as always, it’s the customer who makes the decision.

The in-store displays allow for browsing goods which are not available in the physical point of sales, getting a purchase code and ordering home delivery — customer options are numerous.

The bottom line

3D is not a singular technology. It’s comprised of multiple components, such as 3D product imaging, AI analytics tools, and Digital Signage solutions. These component technologies that make up 3D each have their own inherent value — yet when combined, make for a holistic customer experience.