A Deloitte study showed that around 75% of consumers prefer brands that offer personalization, and they spend nearly 40% more with these brands. Product configurators give customers the opportunity to participate in the design process – and that is powerful for conversion.
What is a product configurator?
A product configurator is a software tool that allows customers to customize products during the ordering process. The tool displays customization options, calculates the final price, and creates visual representations of the finished product.
Key features you should look for
User-friendly interface: An intuitive interface builds customer trust. A cumbersome tool can damage your reputation, even among motivated customers. For complex products, step-by-step guidance that filters out inappropriate choices is highly useful.
Dynamic pricing: Configurators should update the price in real time so customers can see how individual choices affect the total price.
Visualization: Good product visualization helps customers see what they are actually buying. 3D modeling and augmented reality are particularly useful for premium products.
Integrations: Choose software that integrates with your online store, payment solution, and inventory management system to reduce administrative work.
Shopify’s built-in solutions
Variants: Shopify allows you to create up to three options and 2048 variants per product – enough for most catalogs.
Shopify Bundles: This free app allows customers to configure custom bundles based on parameters you set, increasing average order values.
Cart Transform API: Allows you to change how products are displayed in carts and recognize specific combinations as bundles with discounts.
Combined Listings (Shopify Plus): Creates a single listing for separate products or variants, with each variant having its own title, URL, and image carousel.
Benefits for your store
Lower barrier to purchase: Clear pricing and visualization of customized products lower the barrier to completing the purchase.
Shorter lead time: Instead of waiting days for price quotes from the sales team, customers get immediate answers and automatic order creation.
Increased engagement: The opportunity to create something unique is attractive – engaging experiences lead to recommendations and word-of-mouth marketing.
Examples that work
Scout Design Studio uses 3D modeling and dynamic visualization for over 20,000 product variants in its furniture and lighting range. Veneta Blinds guides customers through 744 billion product variants via a nine-step configuration process – and converts them into orders.
