It wasn’t that long ago when the idea of a flooring showroom having a long row of tablets was considered a concept for one day in the future. That day is here! In fact, if you are a flooring executive and you don’t have this functionality display in your showroom, you are behind. That is because once customers get the visual “real-time” experience in flooring selection, they won’t want to purchase it any other way. Floor option visualizers help customers save money and time while bringing the fun factor to selection-making. Here’s how they work.

Customers only need to take photos of the rooms where they want new flooring and upload them to the visualizer tool installed on your company website or app. It is then a simple process to tap flooring pictures to see how each flooring selection would appear in each room. These tools give customers the ability to adjust color, pattern and texture of the materials based on the size and layout of the room to create a realistic image of the new flooring in each room. 

Enhancing the experience even further, customers can view the image from different angles and zoom in to see the details. Before exiting out, the computer-generated pictures can be saved so customers can view again after leaving your showroom. This keeps your company “top of mind” with the customer and helps them move beyond their imaginations and into actual imagery of what each room in their home will look like, making this a gamechanger for homeowners, designers and builders. 

There are the three types of flooring customers, and three different ways in which visual technology can improve the experience for them and reinforce and advance the sale for you.

Pre-Sale: What Instant Visuals Can Do

The right flooring makes a difference in the living experience, which is why it is often the first selection made and then other design decisions follow. When customers can actually “see” what a new floor will look like on their screens, closing the deal will move much faster and upselling becomes much easier. 

Remodeling: Technology Can Support Trends Faster than Samples 

When homeowners decide to give their homes a face-lift, new flooring is often the first stop because it helps dictate how the rest of the new decor will come together and matches personal style in product selections whether they choose affordable, luxury or eco-friendly across a variety of materials from hardwood, tile, carpet, vinyl or a combination. When homeowners can see their “before and after,” their entire buying experience changes from a crowded book of samples to the next level of beautification that is waiting for them. 

Resale: Managing Investment While Refreshing Looks

The type and quality of flooring in homes can significantly impact its resale value. Reports cite that selling a home with new hardwood flooring can increase a home's value by three to five percent. When visual technology can be used for homeowners to see how this upgrade will look, it will make a difference in their decision-making. 

Here are a few examples of how it increased the sales transactions at our company: 

The first was a homeowner who came into our showroom knowing exactly what they wanted in terms of color, material and price to replace their kitchen floor with a newer version. The vinyl with the installation offer would have been approximately $2,500. While the sales rep was waiting on a warehouse call-back about product availability, he suggested they checkout the app installed on our in-store kiosk. 

They didn't have pictures of their own kitchen to download, but the stock photos were similar enough for them to see what other flooring options would look like in their own home. They couldn't believe it and quickly called out to the sales rep to come over and price what they were looking at. Even though the transaction increased by $800, they decided to make the investment and even expanded the flooring to the foyer walkways, which increased the sale further by another $900.

Another customer had all white furniture in their master bedroom and knew if they changed the color of the carpet, they wouldn't have to change anything else in the room since white matches everything. But they were convinced they couldn’t do this in other rooms where they had a mixed motif of décor colors and patterns. After the bedroom install was complete, the sales rep sent a follow-up thank you and included the visual technology app for them to download so they could have fun seeing how a variety of flooring choices would look in other rooms in their home. 

Because the app allows customers to view the flooring with all of the room furniture in place, the customers could see that changing flooring would actually enhance their existing furniture and not disrupt it. Soon after, they came in with a big flooring order for three more rooms that exceeded $10,000. This likely would never have happened if they couldn't actually "see" it for themselves as the visual technology transformed their entire experience and the sales outcome for the retailer.

There are other customer scenarios that have increased sales from $150 to $15,000 because visual apps don't require persuasion. When customers can see for themselves how their rooms will look, it removes the risk-factor from the purchase, which will often lead to a much higher spend. 

Whether pre-sale, remodeling or reselling, the key to success for flooring businesses is remembering that catering to customer preferences lies in offering easily accessible and straightforward choices. When builders and their flooring suppliers provide user-friendly visual technology tools, customers can turn their dreams of exciting flooring designs into reality. Flooring is more than just something to walk on – it serves as the canvas for creativity and design expression that is reflective of the entire home. Customers want to make a statement with flooring and therefore are more likely to invest further when they can actually view how intricate flooring patterns can transform a space from ordinary to extraordinary. Technology isn't a tool of the future; it's a tool for today!