With almost three-quarters of customers using virtual showroom tours as part of their initial decision-making, The Used Kitchen Company unveiled its collaboration with Virtual 360 Tours Glos at the kbb Birmingham show.
Virtual 360 Tours has found that 92% of prospective clients will visit the website before coming into the showroom, and having a tour will keep customers on the site for longer.
Two-out-of-three consumers, says the company, will use the virtual tour as part of their decision-making process and spend up to 10 times longer on average on a website.
Looeeze Grossman, the founder of The Used Kitchen Company, sees synergy between the two companies as virtual showroom tours cut down the travel costs to studios. She also suggested it could be beneficial to the retailer as it could help cut down on time-wasters.
Scott Currie, director of Virtual 360 Tours, said: “I am so excited to announce our partnership with The Used Kitchen Company and excited to be part of a more sustainable future for the kitchen industry. With the introduction of Virtual 360 Tours, showrooms can drastically reduce the carbon footprint of their customers as well as freeing up their diaries for the more serious homeowner”.
Looeeze Grossman, The Used Kitchen Company founder, said: “Since the pandemic, we have seen a growing number of businesses utilising virtual tours on their websites. It’s natural to want to explore the hotel you’ve just booked for two weeks or the house you’d like to buy, so I thought, why not allow consumers to explore their dream kitchen? After all, it is the heart of the home and a considered purchase?
“Now’s the time for showrooms to bounce back after a difficult few years, and hopefully, the opportunity to offer customers both a virtual and an in-person service will enable them to make more sales and attract more customers.”
On the stand at the kbb show, Currie explained the unique features of Virtual 360 Tours. One of the main differences is that the tour can include unique features that allow customers to open cupboards and drawers. These added extras help the customer see inside the cabinets and not just see the whole of the display.
Videos can also be linked in the virtual tours – for example, an oven can link to the manufacturer’s YouTube channel to better explain the appliance. As well as walking around the showroom via the virtual layout, the retailer can pick a path and create a video, so the consumer can watch a walkaround if they prefer.
Other features include: measuring tools to get a better idea of the size and scale of a showroom during the filming process. Virtual 360 Tours Glos also provides still images, and retailers can create small videos for social media from the tour.