Development of the ViewIT Product Configuration Tool

消费者越来越有可能转向互联网购物。对于商家来说，网上购物的一个关键问题是由于客户不满意而导致的高退货率。因此，产品供应商越来越多地试图开发新的工具，以确保客户在购买之前获得尽可能准确的信息，以将这一代价高昂的问题降至最低。目前的应用是为家具供应商开发这样一个工具，为潜在客户提供尽可能准确的图片，让他们知道购买的物品在他们的空间里会是什么样子。申请者计划开发一种产品配置工具，该工具将在互联网上运行，允许客户选择具有有限数量的可配置选项的产品，首先是可以改变支腿和手臂样式的沙发，可以布置截面组件，可以应用不同的面料和表面处理。行业合作伙伴视图最终希望为客户提供完全可定制的选项，以便客户在放置沙发的房间模型中将沙发作为3D模型查看。该工具将对家具供应商有用，有助于促进在线购物和规划，最大限度地提高客户的购物体验，同时将与退货和消费者不满相关的成本降至最低。

Consumers are increasingly likely to turn to the internet for purchases. One of the key issues for onlineshopping for businesses, is the high return rate due to customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, product suppliers areincreasingly trying to develop new tools to ensure the customer has the most accurate information possiblebefore they make a purchase, to minimize this costly issue. The current application is to develop such a tool forfurniture providers, to provide potential customers as accurate a picture as possible of how purchased itemswill look in their space. The applicants plan to develop a product configuration tool that will run over theinternet and allow customers to select a product with a limited number of configurable options, starting withsofas where the leg and arm styles can be changed, sectional components can be arranged and different fabricsand finishes can be applied. Industry partner ViewIT ultimately hopes to provide the fully customizable optionfor clients to view the sofa as a 3D model in a mockup of the room in which it will be placed. The tool will beuseful for furniture providers, to promote online shopping and planning, to maximize the customer shoppingexperience, while minimizing costs associated with returns and consumer dissatisfaction.