[New report] Top 100 U.S. furniture retailers: E-commerce merchandising

Growing online and in-store
with a scalable solution

Read on to find out how the Dutch furniture brand has supported their omnichannel strategy with Cylindo

Summary

FEST, a favorite among Dutch shoppers, was looking for ways to showcase configurable models at scale. By partnering with Cylindo, the team at FEST overhauled their product visualization strategy, increased conversions online and in-store, and managed to save resources otherwise spent on traditional photography.

The challenge

A favorite among Dutch furniture shoppers, FEST offers customers customizable, high-end furniture and home décor pieces without the high-end price tag.

Focused on providing a world-class customer experience, the team at FEST stumbled on Cylindo while researching possible solutions for product visualization at scale.

“In 2020, we realized that we didn’t have a good way to show all the product options available. Modular, made-to-order sofas are our bread and butter, and we can offer an unlimited number of configurations. However, we were not clearly communicating that to our audience,” begins Frank Tervoert, Head of Growth at FEST.

The team quickly realized that traditional solutions were not a good fit.

“We would have to spend millions of euros to try and visualize all available options with traditional photography. Even the most experienced professional working with image editing tools or in-house 3D specialists would not give us the results we were after,” continues Frank Tervoert.

After seeing a few live examples of Cylindo online, the team reached out - and the rest is history.

We no longer have to spend resources on product photography, as we have completely replaced them with Cylindo imagery.

Frank Tervoert, Head of Growth, FEST

The solution

FEST partnered with Cylindo to visualize configurable furniture pieces in a scalable manner. An absolute power-user of Cylindo, FEST uses futureproofed 3D assets at multiple touchpoints in the buyer journey.

Here are some of the use cases they have implemented so far.

1. Configuring products with Cylindo Viewer

The Cylindo Viewer enables FEST to easily communicate their main appeal: configurable furniture pieces.

On the product page, the configuration process is split into multiple steps, gently guiding the user through the design. The final outcome of the configured product is identical to the piece of furniture received, as confirmed by many happy FEST customers.

Frankie 2-seater sofa

Upholstery

360 views of configured furniture

Customers can see realistic samples of custom pieces

View in AR

Get accurate sizing and see if furniture fits

Zoom in on the material

Minimize returns by ensuring customers get exactly what they want

Mobile responsive

Supports all devices and screens

2. Helping customers decide on the best fit with Cylindo AR

FEST is strategically leveraging augmented reality.

“It fits perfectly with our omnichannel strategy. With many of the Dutch population living in small places, furniture sizes can be a major issue, which is why Cylindo AR is a good way to clear any size-related concerns,” says Frank Tervoert, Head of Growth at FEST.

Placed strategically on the product page, customers can preview the furniture they’ve designed and decide whether it’s a good fit, thus reducing the number of returns.

3. Cylindo in marketing efforts

Cylindo assets play a key role in FEST marketing activities.

“We use Cylindo a lot in our marketing efforts, and one use case we especially love is using configured products in our retargeting ads. It’s the best way to remind people of products they’ve created themselves,” clarifies Frank Tervoert, Head of Growth at FEST.

On top of that, the team at FEST is leveraging Cylindo 3D assets to create marketing materials and imagery, GIFs, videos and animations, as well as to ensure brand consistency across different touch points.

The conversion rates in our stores are very high, as customers walk in with their research already done online.

Frank Tervoert, Head of Growth, FEST

4. Increasing in-store conversions

Implementing the solution online has had a direct impact on the conversion rates in FEST stores.
Additionally, store associates are equipped with tablets and use Cylindo regularly in their complementary interior design sessions.

5. Using Cylindo for more productive B2B partnerships

FEST is also growing a network of B2B partnerships.

“We do projects for the service industry (hotels, restaurants) and regularly use Cylindo 3D models in our presentations and pitches. The final result looks stunning, giving us an edge over our competitors,” says Frank Tervoert.

For larger projects, the team at FEST also collaborates with architectural design agencies. The benefit here is that thanks to models being rendered with Chaos V-Ray, they can supply partners directly with Cylindo 3D models ready to be used with applications like SketchUp.

This not only elevates the final result but saves time for the architectural visualization designers working on the project.

4.8

Avg. rating on G2.com

Ever since partnering with Cylindo, FEST has:

Saved thousands of euros in photography costs

Boosted conversions, online
and in-store

Improved omnichannel experience

Introduced an easy-to-scale
solution

The results

Working closely with different teams at Cylindo, FEST have found the winning formula for success - they can launch a new collection in as little as a month!

The results are clearly visible, as buyer confidence is high, and consumers feel empowered to make purchasing decisions.

“Our customers walk into stores knowing the dimensions of different models and even the different fabric names. Thanks to Cylindo, we don’t have to explain all the possibilities our furniture has,” explains Frank Tervoert.

We have found a scalable solution for product visualization. Visualizing the configurable elements on different furniture lines would be impossible without Cylindo. We can see that our customers like to research and educate themselves on the products, and supporting them with a tool like Cylindo makes all the difference.

Frank Tervoert, Head of Growth, FEST

Future plans include exploring different Chaos Cylindo products that could further support FEST mission, as well as discovering new use cases that further maximize the ROI.

Cylindo is grateful for the partnership and looks forward to supporting FEST as both sides work on expanding their collaboration.

About FEST

A favorite among Dutch furniture shoppers, FEST offers customers customizable, high-end furniture and home décor pieces without the high-end price tag. The Dutch brand puts customers at the heart of its business and often challenges the status quo in the industry, turning customer's dream furniture into reality.