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Houzz has launched a new feature that lets home-service pros visualize finished bathroom projects in the very spaces they’ll occupy. Using the new feature through a smartphone or tablet, they can help homeowners walk through and visualize design choices on the fly.
Its latest move builds from the AR features already offered in the Houzz Pro app, now extended to bathrooms. Home renovation pros can choose vanities, showers, sinks, and bathtubs (and various finishes) from the Houzz shop, then overlay them on a given space.
“Our research shows that bathrooms remain one of the top renovation projects among homeowners, with investment in these rooms growing year-over-year,” Houzz co-founder and president Alon Cohen said in a release. “Pros told us they needed an efficient way to communicate bathroom project plans, helping them to sell their vision for a space to current and prospective clients early in the process.”
Higher Stakes
As noted, the new bathroom visualization feature is available in Houzz Pro. This is Houzz’ SaaS offering for home services pros to manage and optimize projects, from marketing to execution. For example, it has a popular floor-plan feature – a precursor to the new AR features.
This evolution toward more visual and dimensional project planning is logical. Demand continues to grow for 3D product visualization as consumers get more accustomed to it in their shopping endeavors. Giants like Amazon and Walmart accelerate this process.
In that way, Houzz’ latest move leans into AR features that have become popular over the past few years for visualizing consumer products – everything from furniture to footwear. Houzz is simply applying this principle to home renovation and design (read: higher stakes).
This was the idea behind Houzz’ longstanding View in My Room 3D feature. But it focused on individual items like rugs and couches. Recent developments, let the company take a bigger bite at entire renovation projects, visualizing final results on a room-by-room basis.
“Each floor plan becomes a roadmap and reference point to communicate with clients, subcontractors, and anyone else involved in the project,” said Chic Interiors principal Brigid Wethington. “It removes the guesswork and gives my clients confidence in their decisions.”
B2B2C
Beyond consumers, this evolution towards more visual and dimensional project planning serves Houzz’ other constituent: home renovation pros. Indeed, intended users of Houzz Pro include contractors and designers that use it in service of their homeowner clients.
The pro-centric approach makes this a B2B2B play. As we’ve examined, this is an opportune approach that brings AR to consumers through the professionals that serve them. It’s also an optimal go-to-market strategy in some cases, as these pros are more motivated adopters.
To expand on that last point, home service pros can use AR to differentiate themselves. This can provide an edge in their own marketing and customer interactions, as well as breed operational efficiencies. For example, they can avoid downstream headaches, such as redoing work.
“Houzz Pro 3D Floor Plans are essential for design,” said Wethington. “[It] makes it easy to quickly draw up multiple floor plans that help our clients not only get excited about all the possibilities for their bathroom, but also understand the reasoning behind my recommendations,”
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