Ever since its launch of the Place App in 2017, IKEA, in collaboration with Apple, has stood out as a leader in the augmented reality (AR) space. The brands launched the experience as a fun way for IKEA customers to visualize what products would look like within their own homes –– and the retailer continues to enhance its offerings to create a more seamless, personalised, and inspiring shopping journey. 

Today, less than a decade later, View in Your Room experiences have largely become table stakes for ecommerce merchants. So, what was the secret sauce that positioned IKEA as a trailblazer in AR, and what was it about the experience that shoppers fell in love with? It all comes down to 3D.

The IKEA experience

In the eight years since it was first introduced, IKEA’s take on View in Your Room has gone through several iterations. The current one is IKEA Kreativ: an easy-to-use virtual room planner that lets users visualize the retailer’s entire range of furniture, storage, and home goods within their own space. 

IKEA Kreativ combines 3D, AR machine learning, and AI technologies to offer both interactive digital showrooms and “scan your room” features. Personalization is next-level in the room-scanning offering, with products scaling accurately and automatically to the given space. The 3D technology allows a glimpse of IKEA’s catalog within the room’s real-world lighting, and how items look juxtaposed with existing furnishings. 

The tool is available both online and through the IKEA app. Shoppers scan the room they’re looking to outfit, and then can search for the items they need. They have the chance to test run different colors, textures, and designs and determine what will work best for their space. It’s possible to erase anything in the room that users want to replace to give the most realistic depiction. 

It’s safe to say the tool is a hit with consumers –– the app has been downloaded over 10 million times globally and it has improved engagement, with IKEA reporting a 98% increase in the likelihood of a furniture purchase after using the app. 

The View in Your Room benefit

What makes IKEA Kreativ such a hit among users is its ability to tick the right boxes in the ecommerce shopping journey. 

Personalization continues to move the needle for discerning consumers. Now, a whopping 81% of shoppers say they prefer companies that offer some element of personalization in their content offerings. View in Your Room is about as personalized as shopping can get, since consumers can choose the configurations they have in mind, try out different colors and patterns, and see them all in their own space. 

There’s also a degree of immersion that isn’t even possible in brick and mortar shopping. When you visit a store’s showroom in person, you sacrifice convenience and the ability to see how it looks within the architecture of your space. 3D opens up a whole new range of possibilities. 

Aside from a spike in conversion, one of the biggest benefits merchants see is cost-savings. When shoppers can use 3D technology to explore products before they purchase, returns are massively reduced. Brands that embrace the shopping tool offer view in room experiences of different degrees of detail and varying scale. Yet their one commonality –– from IKEA to smaller retail players –– is a need for high-quality, photorealistic 3D models. 

Whether brands are looking to adhere to Amazon 3D standards or create their own bespoke experience, Loft3Di is ready to produce unmatched 3D modeling at scale. We keep on top of the latest developments in the space and can help execute strategies of all kinds. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you give your customers a shopping experience they’ll come back for.