Home furnishings e-commerce giant Wayfair is launching an augmented reality app that will allow users of a certain smartphone to see full-scale digital versions of furniture and décor in-home before they buy.

The WayfairView app, was developed the company’s Wayfair Next research and development team and is available in Google Play. One catch: consumers will be able to the product visualization with the app on an upcoming smartphone by Lenovo called the Phab2 Pro, available in September. The phone features Google’s Tango technology.

“Wayfair Next is laying the groundwork for new innovations that will change the face of retail — all with first-party technology,” Steve Conine, Wayfair co-chairman and co-founder, said in a statement.

“By digitizing our vast catalog through 3-D scanning, we will dramatically improve the visualization of products to create the best possible shopping experience for our customers. With smartphone augmented reality, we can take this a step further.”

The app from the Boston-based e-commerce company will allow shoppers to visualize furniture and décor in their homes by virtually placing products from Wayfair’s catalog in their rooms at full-scale. Consumers will be able to view their rooms through the Phab2 camera lens, select a Wayfair product and virtually place it in the room to see how it fits and looks within the space.

Shoppers can also move and rotate products to visualize various layouts and perspectives, and when they’re ready to buy, they can seamlessly connect to Wayfair’s shopping app in Google Play.

Other augmented reality products for home furnishings have been launched by other sources, including Cimagine, which recently rolled the system out with San Diego-based Jerome’s Furniture. However, that one can be used on a variety of Android and Apple iPhones and mobile devices.

“Driving technology innovation has been ingrained in Wayfair’s culture from the beginning,” Conine said.

“WayfairView represents one of many initiatives underway that will help close the gap to make online shopping not only an exceptional experience for consumers, but the preferred way to shop for home furnishings and décor.”

(Source: Furniture Today  Author: Clint Engel)