Hisham Sarwar
When consumers fail to visualize how a product will look in their home, they experience an imagination gap. The online retail market is being hindered by this phenomenon that causes many consumers to put off buying products for their home. But the new technologies such as virtual and augmented reality platforms are creating great potential for retailers to add up to this online offering.
Earlier such attempts did not prove very successful for influencing consumers buying decisions. Recently, a UK based startup in Manchester named as Digital Bridge is taking a different approach towards this sector. It is offering technology that can be integrated into a retailer’s existing website. It uses computer vision as well as machine learning to allow you to take a photo of your room and remove furniture, wallpaper, and any other home décor. It can then be replaced with items from the retailer’s catalogue.
According to the Digital Bridge founder David Levine, for UK this is a £1 billion problem as many fail to change their room as there is no undo button in interior design. This computer vision with a machine learning platform allows the user to capture the image of the room with their phone and then spontaneously recognizes the walls, floor, objects, ceiling, and lightening conditions in the room. Then it let users to render wallpapers, paints, carpets, furniture, as well as artwork in that place.
DigitalBridge does not rely on AR unlike its competitors. AR is a technology that requires a specific mobile application which makes the buying journey somewhat troublesome. With apps being difficult to build and maintain Digital Bridge integrates its technology with a retailer’s responsive website so it can be used on mobile, desktop, or even a tablet.
According to the CEO of the startup, DigitalBridge being B2B SaaS company customers of home décor retailers such as IKEA, B&Q, DFS, etc. customers with this technology remodel their home before purchasing the new furnishings. Also, the startup earns cash whenever an end-user uploads an image of their room through integration with DigitalBridge API.
This platform helps customers to understand the content and 3D geometry of indoor scenes. Customers seamlessly visualize new decorations and furniture in their own homes.
Development of such platform in Pakistan can help fill in the imagination gap and positively influence the consumer buying behaviour.
