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Wickes to introduce Internet-enabled tool for room planning

By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, April 14, 2002

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Internet marketing services company Interiors Interactive has added a sophisticated point-of-sale imaging and room planning tool that is set for implementation at Wickes stores later this month.

Storis retailers also are being shown the Internet-enabled product, which allows consumers to design entire rooms, from floor to ceiling, and to "furnish" them on computer screens.

Called DesignPlanner, the tool allows consumers to place proportionally correct images of possible furniture purchases in virtual rooms, previewing how they might look in homes.

The precursor to DesignPlanner, called The Room Designer, still is available and in use in the field. Nine months old, it has helped reduce returns and boost online sales, according to Wickes. About 12% of Wickes' e-commerce is generated by Room Designer, transactions that involve returns 10% less often than other Internet sales.

Unlike the newer DesignPlanner, the Room Designer is a black-and-white, top-down viewing tool with no three-dimensional characteristics and no options for accessorizing a virtual room.

The DesignPlanner was developed to be used on the Internet or on a retail floor by salespeople. Pricing for the new feature is $610 per month plus set-up and photography fees. This compares to $550 per month for Room Designer.

Michelle Bourdelais, a co-developer of the new feature, said the ability of users to size their room to ensure a piece fits is a major departure in imaging technology.

"The user can type in dimensions of the room to the nearest 0.5 feet," she said. "We have worked very hard for over seven months to make these things possible."

Bourdelais said initial feedback from Storis customers is very positive.

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Would the bed look better over there? Interiors Interactive's imaging and room planning tool allows consumers to test ideas on computer screens, either in stores or on the Internet.

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