Shopping for paint is supposed to be fun.
After all, nothing brings a home to life quite like a fresh coat of paint on the walls. But let’s face it: for many homeowners, it can be a headache. The reality is that shopping for paint typically involves numerous trips to the store, a sea of paper swatches, and some messy streaks on the walls as customers test out sample after sample trying to find the perfect paint color for their home.
And even then, it can still feel like a guessing game.
It’s no wonder that, according to The Home Depot, upwards of 75% of customers abandon their paint projects because they can’t decide on a color. For paint retailers and manufacturers, this indecision can harm sales and customer satisfaction, underscoring the critical importance of providing innovative solutions that simplify the paint selection process.
Enter paint visualization.
What is paint visualization?
Paint visualization is a cutting-edge technology, powered by augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI), that allows shoppers to paint their homes virtually with just a few clicks. Using the online paint tool, customers can see different paint colors in a room of their choice — before they ever have to pick up a brush, make a purchase, or leave the comfort of their own home.
The process is simple. First, customers upload a picture of their room to the paint visualizer, which typically lives on retailer and manufacturer websites. Then, they browse through your product catalog and select a paint color. The paint color visualizer takes care of the rest, producing a digital rendering that applies the paint onto their walls.
It’s the ultimate solution for customers who want to visualize how their house would look painted without the stress and uncertainty of the traditional paint shopping experience.
How does paint visualization benefit customers?
AI paint visualization is revolutionizing the way consumers decorate their homes.
No longer do they have to jump through hoops to see a paint color in their room. With paint color visualizers, customers can effortlessly explore endless options without the limitations of physical swatches. In fact, they’ll never even need to leave your website throughout the entire buying journey — from product discovery to visualization and checkout. This helps foster a fun and frictionless shopping experience, while simultaneously unlocking a whole new world of design possibilities.
But that’s just the beginning.
By allowing customers to digitally paint their walls before committing to a purchase, paint visualizer tools help eliminate the guesswork in shopping for paint and inspire more confident purchasing decisions. Gone are the days when customers had to somehow try to imagine how a tiny paint chip or sample might translate across an entire room. Paint visualization shows customers the full picture, allowing them to find the perfect shade that complements their existing decor and creates their desired aesthetic.
How does paint visualization benefit businesses?
Paint visualization isn’t just winning over consumers. It’s a game-changer for businesses, too.
Home decor brands using the Roomvo visualizer, for instance, are seeing engagement skyrocket with up to 4x more product views. Why? Because once customers see one product in their home, they want to see more. Case in point: customers typically view 16 to 20 products when they upload a photo of their own space to the room visualizer, according to Roomvo consumer data. By contrast, they view an average of 4 to 6 products in pre-set room scenes. Clearly, personalization is key.
So, what does this mean for your bottom line?
More sales.
Normally, consumers might ponder over their paint choices for upwards of two months, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute. That’s a lot of time to get cold feet. By simplifying the selection process, Roomvo paint visualization not only shortens the sales cycle but also delivers 5x more conversions for retailers and manufacturers. At the end of the day, customers are far more likely to purchase paint for their home decor projects when they can visualize the end result.
Paint visualization case study: Rust-Oleum
Beyond the traditional benefits, paint visualization can also help broaden your audience. Consider Rust-Oleum, for example. The leading paint manufacturer integrated their Roomvo-powered paint visualizer into the sales pitch for their first-ever pre-tinted paint collection, Colour Spark. And according to Rhoda Williams, Senior Brand Manager at Rust-Oleum, “Roomvo got the paint into stores.”
“They sat there and went, ‘Wow,’” Williams recalled from her meetings with retailers. “I think it really helped us sell the paint program and get our paint listed at retailers.”
Recognizing the potential of paint visualization, Rust-Oleum also made Roomvo a focal point of their marketing outreach for the Colour Spark launch. The visualization experience was featured across their social media channels, TV commercials, YouTube pre-roll, and influencer campaigns, playing a significant role in driving brand awareness and engagement. They even had a QR code on the front of every paint can, linking directly to that product in the room color visualizer on their website.
“Roomvo was a huge part of what the launch was about,” Williams said.
Ultimately, offering paint visualization allows businesses to differentiate themselves from the competition. The virtual room painting tool delivers an extraordinary shopping experience that’s driven by emotions and value, inspiring customers to kickstart the paint projects they’ve been putting off.
“People want customization with the least effort and cost, and you can change the entire environment in a room with color,” Williams said. “So, we want to help them move past go and get started on that paint project. It shouldn’t be intimidating.”
The Roomvo visualization experience was featured across Rust-Oleum’s marketing campaign for Colour Spark, including this collaboration with influencers The Sorry Girls.
What to look for in a paint visualizer
A lot goes into choosing the right room visualization partner for your business, including the level of innovation, quality of customer support, access to data analytics, and website integration capabilities. But it all starts with the visualization experience.
Here are some key features to look for in a paint visualizer.
- User experience: Is your paint visualizer easy to use? How quickly does it produce a rendering? Is it compatible with different devices and browsers? If it’s not user-friendly, you risk losing potential customers before they even have a chance to interact with your products.
- Realism: How does your paint visualizer handle lighting and shadows? Can you see a wall’s existing texture after a paint color is visualized, or does it appear flat? Does the visualized paint cover the right surfaces, with smooth edges around the furniture in the room? Realism is essential in paint visualization. If the rendering doesn’t look realistic, customers are going to lose confidence in your brand.
- Multi-wall visualization: Can users apply different paint colors to different walls in the same room? Or are they limited to a single product for the entire room? If your paint visualizer doesn’t allow for multi-wall visualization, you’re limiting the potential to bundle products and show customers the full picture of what they can accomplish with their room design.
- Visualizing finishes: Does your paint visualizer allow customers to visualize different paint finishes, such as matte, eggshell, satin, and high gloss? If not, they may still leave the visualization experience with a level of uncertainty, delaying a potential conversion.
Paint visualization FAQs
1. What is paint visualization?
Paint visualization is a technology that combines augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to show users what different paint colors would look like in their rooms.
2. How do paint visualizers work?
Customers upload a photo of their room, select a paint color from the product catalog, and see a digital rendering with the paint applied to their walls in seconds.
3. How does paint visualization enhance the customer experience?
Rather than dealing with paper swatches and sample pots, paint visualization conveniently allows customers to see how their house would look painted with just a few clicks. In addition to saving customers time and effort, seeing the end result helps inspire confidence in their purchasing decisions.
4. Why should home decor businesses integrate paint visualization tools?
Integrating paint visualization tools is proven to significantly increase engagement and sales while helping home decor brands stand out from the competition. Retailers and manufacturers using the Roomvo-powered paint visualizer have seen up to 4x product views and 5x conversions.
5. What features are crucial in a paint visualizer?
When choosing a paint visualizer, look for a user-friendly experience, realistic renderings that accurately reflect lighting, shadows, and texture, the ability to apply different paint colors to different walls in the same room, and options to view various paint finishes.
