Tech firm Wanna — an augmented reality (AR) specialist owned by Farfetch — has launched the Wanna 3D Viewer that it says allows luxury e-commerce retailers “to offer 3D experiences for all product categories”. It’s a solution to the challenge luxury e-tailers have long faced of “providing in-depth online product exploration akin to the tactile experience in a physical store”.
The company said: “Traditional product photos fail to deliver the interactive and engaging encounters today’s online shoppers expect. Wanna 3D Viewer helps bridge this gap by providing a digital experience for customers to explore the products in more detail and from different angles from the comfort of their homes, helping to overcome the limitations of online shopping and providing an immersive user journey.” It’s also said to “empower brands to explore new communication methods and instil customer confidence by leveraging immersive technology”.
It’s designed for 3D models of watches, sneakers, heels, other types of footwear, homewares and jewellery. The 3D Viewer has features such as Points of Interest (POI) “that allow brands to highlight specific attributes of a 3D model and craft compelling product storytelling around them”. And brands can incorporate text information for each POI.
Meanwhile for jewellery, the ‘Enhanced Gems’ feature “allows consumers to experience coloured gems and brilliants that closely resemble their real-world counterparts”. Saying that integration of the viewer into websites is “seamless through the SDK” (software development kit), Wanna said that when using it, users can rotate products, zoom in and out on various angles and details, and navigate through POIs, “enabling them to capture the product’s story and establish an emotional connection with the product”.
CEO Sergey Arkhangelskiy said: “Growing demand for 3D in luxury fashion signals a major industry shift towards a more engaging and realistic product discovery journey. Compared to product photos, 3D assets provide customers with opportunities to explore the details of various products from the comfort of their homes and help to build an emotional connection with the product. 3D also helps customers to make more informed purchasing decisions.”