Best-in-class retailers are embracing customization to help boost online engagement and overall time spent on their e-Commerce sites. Using customization configurators, these retailers are allowing shoppers to tailor specific products, and even collections, based on their personal tastes and preferences.
While retailers such as Kate Spade Saturday allow consumers to mix and match colors and patterns to design their own weekender bags, companies like Matouk are helping visitors mix and match a variety of different products. The home textile manufacturer and distributor partnered with Fluid to create the experience, which was designed to drive sales for its luxury bedding and linens.
Officially launched in November 2014, the mix and match configurator was developed and implemented over the course of a year, according to Stuart Kiely, Senior Director of Technology and Marketing at Matouk. Today, customers can create more than 100 million different styles, color and component combinations using the tool. Since implementation, Matouk has discovered that consumers who spend time using the tool spend 700% more time on the site than those who do not.
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“A lot of the up-front work involved translating all our bedding styles into their digital counterpart,” Kiely said. “From there, we set out to model about 70 different styles across eight different bed components. There was a lot of work involved to make the virtual bed look exactly like one of our customer’s beds and then modeling each and every style to make them look as close to life as possible.”
Building An E-Commerce Experience
Matouk spent most of its 85-year history selling solely to retailers and interior designers, but it entered the e-Commerce world by launching a direct-to-consumer site in 2013.
“We’re still in the process of developing our digital presence,” Kiely explained. “As a luxury retailer, we made the decision to sell online because we wanted to be able to shape the brand experience in a digital world. We think that building a strong online brand for Matouk will help support and strengthen the relationships we have with designers, retailers and ultimately, the consumer.”
The customization technology was initially made available to retailers and interior designers online and via the Matouk iPad app.
“Our trade customers were able to access the configurator and work one-to-one with a customer to help them visualize a combination of styles and colors that perfectly suits their taste,” Kiely said. The tool also is available to the general public, and has helped Matouk increase engagement substantially.
Early feedback for the tool has been “incredibly positive,” Kiely reported. “Users particularly appreciate the amount of flexibility and choice the tools offers. We are already thinking about ways to continue building on this strong foundation through continued personalization such as monogramming or visualization in other product categories such as bath and tabletop.”
Customization resonates especially well with Matouk’s customers because bedding and linens are so tactile, making them difficult to merchandise, Kiely noted. That means it is sometimes challenging for online shoppers to envision how different items look together, which may prevent them from making a purchase. “The configurator helps enable the customer’s creativity by giving them more confidence in how their selections will mix and match with one another.”
As a key player in the 3D-modeling and customization space, Fluid helped Matouk present products in a realistic way, delivering life-like, virtual products that include different contours, textures and shading.
“We were looking for a partner that we could trust to recreate our products digitally,” Kiely said, “in a way that didn’t compromise the design or essence of the product.
