Shopify has become a top choice among ecommerce merchants; in large part due to the high level of customization available paired with an easy UI. The choices available to Shopify merchants make it an attractive platform for businesses of all sizes. But while it is easy to sign up and go, the most successful businesses on Shopify are those who take advantage of the many features and partners available.
Let’s look at three ways Shopify merchants can improve their website using features available right now.
Backend Optimization
Shopify rolled out commerce components in early 2023, allowing brands to more easily integrate their Shopify sites with other key technologies. Component categories include storefront, compliance, core commerce, shipping and logistics, omnichannel, and cart and checkout.
Leveraging components means there are no limits on the number of API connections made to the site. By opening the door for additional API connections, merchants are able to process a higher number of transactions, choose their payment vendor of choice, and increase the number of product variants available on their site.
Targeted Acquisition
With the quickly evolving privacy and advertising landscape giving many brands headaches, the opportunity to leverage specific customer segments is one to jump at. Merchants on Shopify Plus have free access to Shopify Audiences, which generates lists of US buyers likely to purchase from your store, to then be used on digital advertising platforms.
Audiences are available across categories, and brands leveraging this offering have seen great success since Shopify launched the service. Fitness brand BlenderBottle saw a 600% return on ad spend when using Audiences, while furniture brand, Nathan James, attracted 500 new customers from their Audience campaign.
Front End Experience
The first priority for many ecommerce brands is creating a visually appealing and highly functional web experience for their customers. 80% of buyers say the experience is as important as the product when making a purchase online, and in today’s competitive market, a poor experience is sure to cost business customers and their dollars.
Shopify offers many templates specifically designed for a smooth ecommerce experience, but savvy brands have learned the extras will go a long way in increasing their sales. That is why many are turning to visual commerce tools, including product visualization, 3D configurators, and augmented reality to enhance their Shopify website. Adding visual commerce tools to a Shopify site creates a more engaging experience and boosts consumer confidence in purchase. In fact, Shopify merchants who have enabled 3D and augmented reality are seeing 94% higher conversion rates compared to traditional product pages.
Here is how you can implement 3D and AR on Shopify.
What is 3D product visualization?
3D product visualization is the process of creating high fidelity 3D representations of products. Product visualizers do not provide users with the ability to view product variations, such as colors, but may include features such as informational hot spots or animation.
What Is A 3D Product Configurator?
3D configurators are immersive product experiences which allow shoppers to select specific colors, textures, features, and add ons and view them on their desired product. Like product visualizers, 3D product configurators allow users to experience products in an interactive 360° environment. Product configurators may also be referred to as 3D visual configurators.
What Is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience in which users can view and engage with a computer generated object in their current real world environment. 3D models developed for product visualization or 3D configuration may be used to create an augmented reality product experience.
How To Add 3D to Shopify
Adding 3D to Shopify is made simple through product visualization software, allowing brands to seamlessly integrate an immersive shopping experience into their existing product site. The benefit of using a product visualization platform over uploading a singular model as a Shopify media asset is the ability to scale and maintain a product library over time and across channels. Integrating Dopple with a Shopify site brings a life-like digital twin of the product to life, and enables an interactive and high performing 3D configuration experience.
Adding 3D to a Shopify site with Dopple does not require extensive coding for launch or maintenance, allowing time and resources to be more efficiently managed over time.
How To Add AR to Shopify?
77% of buyers prefer to view product variations in augmented reality, and adding AR to a Shopify site is a seamless process when partnering with a visual commerce platform such as Dopple. AR experiences can be added to a Shopify in tandem with a product visualizer or 3D configurator experience, or as a free standing experience launched using webAR. Adding AR to Shopify does not require buyers to download an app to view products in AR.
Shopify offers merchants a wealth of options in customizing and optimizing websites built on the platform. Take advantage of the opportunity and be a industry leader with customer experiences that thrill and convert.
