IMMERSIVE CONTENT: HOW 3D CONTENT CAN BOOST YOUR CONVERSION RATES BY 40%

The last 2 years has well and truly levelled the playing field for retailers. The brands that have managed to not only survive but thrive, are those that have been able to connect with their customers in new and innovative ways. CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN ONLINE AND PHYSICAL IN-STORE EXPERIENCES.... THE WORLD OF 'PHYGITAL'.

In our recent Linkedin poll, we asked our followers, “Where do you think retailers will invest in 2022?”. 42% of responders voted that brands will invest in more “immersive visual content”.

You're not alone - IN FACT, YOUGOV PREDICTS THAT BRANDS WILL PRIORITISE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES IN ORDER TO BOOST CONVERSIONS IN 2022. What's more, the use of Augmented Reality (AR) is becoming increasingly commonplace and a familiar touchpoint in customer’s buying experiences, particularly when purchasing high-value or luxury consumer goods.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION & PACE OF CHANGE REMAINS #1 RETAIL CHALLENGE

Regardless of industry, Gartner states that the top strategic focus for the next two years for brands is firmly set on digital business transformation as a path to growth. With CMOs indicating that they’re shifting offline budgets into digital spend with a laser focus on customer experience and eCommerce capabilities.

The Gartner Annual CMO Spend Survey highlights that pure-play digital channels account for 72.2% of the total marketing budget. The cause for the shift has been triggered by CMOs number one challenge:

“TO BETTER MEET THE PACE OF CHANGE BROUGHT ON BY ADVANCES IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY (47%)”

What does this mean for the future of retail? We predict that we’ll see CMO’s prioritising investment in content and capabilities that fuel digital commerce success, plus the rise of Metaverse-Ready Content.

THE RISE IN 3D CONTENT

Immersive visualisation and 3D product advertising is on the rise. In fact, mobile Augmented Reality users worldwide are expected to reach 1.1 billion this year alone compared to 810 million last year. A study from Freeman (Campaign Live) found that more than ONE IN THREE CMOS EXPECTED TO SPEND 21% TO 50% OF THEIR BUDGETS ON EXPERIENTIAL ADVERTISING. Why? Many recognise that immersive content builds better brand experiences and allows them to break through the noise in an otherwise saturated market. Nurturing stronger brand recognition, engagement, and improved conversion rates. What's more, advances in technology and 3D content allow retailers to showcase EVERY single colour, sku or variant of every product. Historically, producing product content at this scale would be cost-prohibitive.

ACCORDING TO FORBES, 3D MARKETING WAS SHOWN TO INCREASE THE CONVERSION RATE OF LUXURY BRANDS BY 40%.

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ARE YOU READY FOR THE FUTURE OF CONTENT?

So, enough with the stats… It’s clear that 2022 is the year for 3D and immersive content…Are you ready?

HERE’S HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOUR 3D & AR ECOMMERCE STRATEGIES:

Whether you’re a complete 3D novice or you have your own in-house content team, we can help you create 3D assets in a number of ways.

Once we’ve created one “digital twin” (or 3D model) of your product - we can generate content at scale, for every marketing channel now and for the future: online, instore, mobile and even the metaverse.

Whether you need eCommerce imagery, 360 product spins, rendered product imagery for advertising key visuals, configurators, augmented, virtual or mixed reality. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE ONCE YOU HAVE A DIGITAL TWIN OF YOUR PRODUCT.

‍Here’s how it all works…

HOW IT WORKS

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PIONEERING BRANDS WITH PHOTOGRAMMETRY

WHAT IS PHOTOGRAMMETRY?

We use a process called Photogrammetry to create hyper-realistic “digital twins” of your products. Photogrammetry is the process of reproducing a digital twin of a physical object to make an accurate 3D model.

This process of 3D photogrammetry can be used to render everything from shoes, to handbags to small accessories - it captures the nuances and material properties that are hard, time consuming (not to mention expensive) to recreate using CG rendering. Our proprietary scanning technology allows us to create the highest quality 3D models - high volumes, at scale, and at the same price as traditional production:

• 850+ digital models per month capacity
• Scalable to 3,000+ per month
• In-housing of equipment and teams
• Ultra high quality textures (16K resolution)
• Futureproof 3D models for video, imagery, key visuals and campaigns
• Proven workflows and project management
• Shared asset management platform

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

REDUCE RETURNS + INCREASE PROFITABILITY

KPMG estimates that up to 10% of homeware is returned each year - costing UK retailers over £60,000,000 per year. In the fashion sector, this can be as high as 25%, and in footwear specifically, 20% of all sales are returned across online and instore channels.

More widely, 30% of all products BOUGHT ONLINE are returned compared with just 8.89% in-store. There’s a big divide here…

In a  nutshell, the better and more accurate your product imagery is on your website and in your marketing material - the more confident the shopper will be in their purchasing decisions. Leading to fewer returns, less shipping costs - making a measurable difference to your bottom line.

As well as reducing returns rates, improving the overall customer experience and boosting conversion rates - Once we have a ‘digital twin’ of your product we can take these models and place them in virtual lifestyle sets or creative environments to create hyper realistic still imagery and moving shots that are indistinguishable from ‘real’, traditional photography. Digital assets that can be used across all your other marketing channels.

AR TRY ON FOR WEB & MOBILE

When you’re ready we can easily make those same digital twins Augmented Reality (AR) ready so that customers can view your product in their space. Directly from the eCommerce storefront - onto their mobile phones - and into their rooms...or even on their feet or faces and bodies!

3D VIEWS OF YOUR PRODUCTS

We believe that every single eCommerce or product visual has much more potential than a single image, cut out on a white background. We take your digitally native content (3D model) and make it playable. You can then take these assets and embed them directly into your eCommerce website in the form of 360 spins, product videos and more.

INTERACTIVE CONFIGURATORS

That's not all... Up until recently it’s been hard to replicate the touch, feel and scale of a product through a screen. Our configurators allow consumers to envisage what a product looks like in their own home. Our technology allows every product to be interactive and personalised (be it resizing or re-colouring). But we go further than that, we build configuration tools making a much richer and engaging experience whatever industry you're in. From kitchens and clothing to bathrooms and beauty.

AMAZON HAS DISCOVERED THAT USER ENGAGEMENT INCREASED BY 66% WITH A 3D TECHNOLOGY CONFIGURATOR COMPARED TO 2D MARKETING SOLUTIONS.

THE METAVERSE: SENSORY MARKETING WILL BECOME TO NEW NORM

The last two years have catapulted the development of virtual reality and experiential marketing forward a decade. What was expected to be years away is now a reality in the form of the Metaverse. So, how will digital marketers and retailers need to adapt?

According to The Drum, the brands that will succeed are those that go beyond gimmicks and create experiences that appeal to all five senses. Retailers need to plan and implement sensory, creative campaigns that harness the immersive and interactive qualities of the metaverse to engage on a more meaningful level, and reap the rewards. For those that do, the metaverse opens all kinds of tailored marketing opportunities for brands that go beyond targeted ads.

In our latest article, “CGI to Metaverse Ready Content in 6 Simple Steps”, we aim to demystify the metaverse and outline how you can get from CGI to metaverse content without reinventing the wheel. At CCW, we don't know for sure where the Metaverse is heading, but what we do know is that whether you’re building for the future Metaverse, for key visuals, or CGI lifestyle imagery... One thing remains true - You need good 3D models of your products. You also need good-looking architectural spaces, some well-styled props all in digital 3D form, assembled by a team of experts. And yes we have been doing that (and more) for the last 11 years.

READY TO CREATE 3D MODELS OF YOUR PRODUCTS AT SPEED & SCALE?

In a world growing with ever more demanding consumers - hungry for more and better content - our creative and technology experts can capture all your products at speed and scale. Contact us to find out how we can take your content production to the next level.