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Retail space 3D rendering
3 August 2021
Manoj Singh

Why Create 3D Walk-throughs for Retail Spaces

Among the many places evolving at pace with pandemic-induced lockdowns, retail spaces are adapting in style and with a dash of innovation to boot. Virtual shopping is transforming the retail experience in a variety of ways. Since more than 80% of shoppers conduct research online before they buy, it can be profitable to increase market reach and enhance the shopping experience to use 3D virtual walk-throughs of retail stores. Creating a high-tech immersive feel, the latest technology can help create a realistic virtual store, including product details and purchasing links. With reliable 3D visualisation services, realistic retail 3D walk-throughs can be developed to provide retailers with a range of benefits.

Part of the objectives of sound retail space planning is to find interesting ways for consumers to shop. Creating 3D walk-throughs can help with navigation and presents several 3D retail store design benefits. By capturing immersive 3D models of store layouts and displays, retailers can easily plan and manage branding and merchandising in different locations.

Benefits

Some of the ways that walk-throughs provide benefits include:

  • Bringing people into a store virtually – A digital twin of the retail space, which is a virtual model that accurately reflects a physical object or space, allows shoppers to browse through a shop and buy merchandise.
  • Extend market reach – Research shows that shopper engagement increases with a 3D virtual experience.
  • Incorporate e-commerce – Unique item tags can make it easy for customers to purchase those items,
  • Enhance the appeal of a retail space – Videos and images in a store’s walk-through makes it more visually appealing and may entice shoppers to visit the store.
  • Accelerate employee training – New employees can access the store digitally to understand the retail space, its products and its flow quickly without needing a physical tour. When new employees know their way around, they are more prepared when they start. Minimum time is needed to train new recruits, saving time and money.
  • Create a store map – A detailed 3D floor plan helps customers quickly find what they want.
  • Enhance marketing campaigns – Videos, GIFs and images can be exported to potential customers for an extensive campaign.
  • Safe reopening during pandemic – Customers can have a visual assurance that the retailer has taken the right precautions for health and safety, and they can see there is ample space for social distancing guidelines.

Retail businesses can look forward to greater footfall with virtual walk-throughs. A survey showed that those who viewed a virtual tour of a retail store were twice as likely to visit, and 67% of those polled wanted more virtual tours of retail spaces.

Creating a virtual walk-through can help add marketing components for added value. As an offset, high resolution images, virtual walk-throughs and a floor plan can also be created. Understanding aesthetics, composition and knowing the relevance of framing and lighting can improve virtual walk-throughs.

Technology

How is current technology making strong inroads into the virtual walk-through landscape?

Today’s technology can help simplify the management of a store and develop a consistent shopping experience online and in-store. Though working with this technology may not necessarily be complicated, a creative eye would considerably enhance an effective virtual walk-through. The advantages of using advanced technology to design walk-throughs are:

  • Faster Collaboration – Accurate physical details and measurements are needed to renovate, construct, remodel or rebrand retail spaces and for efficient collaboration between retailers, architectural firms and contractors. On-site data can be captured without site visits, accelerating the decision-making process. Accurate point cloud data can be generated directly from a 3D model to quickly create CAD, Revit or SketchUp models. Then, 3D design templates can be easily created or replicated for other stores.
  • Improved Documentation – Digital 3D tours of buildings can help manage maintenance issues and train employees on new procedures cost-effectively. Digital tags label equipment to document repairs, maintenance requests and training data.
  • Consistency – Accurate 3D visual representations of stores and site management data, including accurate measurements store details, such as aisle dimensions, type of equipment and other onsite details are delivered for each location. It can be used for merchandising, seasonal and promotional rollouts. These new systems can be integrated into existing systems.
Media Platforms

Using walk-throughs eases retailers effortlessly into modern media platforms. They can:

  • Share retail posts easily on social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
  • Export videos, GIFs, and 4K print-quality photos from a 3D model
  • Connect with local customers looking for nearby stores through Google Street View
  • Generate guided tours to showcase highlights
  • Integrate product details and links for easy purchasing

As an evolving industry, retail building design will have to adapt to new realities. With the support of experienced and updated 3D rendering services providers, 3D retail store design can rely on the accuracy of retail 3D modelling, retail rendering and other 3D architectural rendering services to represent these adaptations.

XS CAD has valuable experience providing retail space planning and 3D retail store design and 3D rendering services for retailers. Our range of services for retailers across the world, include retail building design, retail rendering and 3D architectural rendering services. We have proven to be a preferred 3D rendering service provider, due to the high quality of our retail 3D modelling and retail 3D walk-throughs, created by using AutoCAD, Revit, 3ds Max, V-Ray, Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, Illustrator and BIM Collaboration Pro for cloud collaboration.

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