Abbey Carpet & Floor and Floors To Go have partnered with Roomvo—a company that specializes in visualization tools for the flooring industry—to provide digital room viewer capabilities for the retailers’ network of floor covering showrooms across North America.
“Visualization has moved from being a ‘nice to have’ to an expectation on the part of consumers,” said Bill Wilson, vice president of marketing at Abbey. “Given our members’ reputations for providing a top-notch customer experience, it was critical to go with the segment leader. Roomvo’s outstanding realism, ease-of-use and speed made them the logical choice.”
Ted Dlugokienski, CFO and EVP of operations at Abbey, said partnering with companies like Roomvo is key to the ongoing success of its members. “Abbey’s success over the past 62 years is a testament to our members’ ability to build great relationships with their customers,” he said. “We’re committed to build on that success by partnering with companies like Roomvo. The strength of their product pipeline and compelling vision for the future match our values.”
Abbey retailers clamor for useful selling tools
Abbey dealers got their first glimpse of Roomvo’s visualization technology at the group’s convention back in February. The technology, according to Wilson, “ties in with the buying groups’ efforts to upgrade its digital assets and put more great tools in the hands of our members. We gave our dealers a sneak peek at the Roomvo visualizer, and they couldn’t wait to start using it to generate traffic and close sales.”
Technology drives changes in shopping habits
Retail has been undergoing an evolution as digital technologies are adopted to improve consumers’ ability to interact with brands and products on their own terms. The COVID-19 pandemic, associated lockdowns and tentative return to public interaction are accelerating the rate of change.
“Committing to new flooring is a big deal for most people,” said Pawel Rajszel, CEO of Roomvo. “The vast variety of options, combined with the significant cost, means that it often takes months for consumers to reach a decision. Roomvo allows users to see how a new floor will look in their own room in seconds. As a result, decisions can be made more confidently and much more quickly—sometimes on the spot.”
Metrics point to increased consumer usage
According to research conducted by Roomvo, consumer familiarity and usage of interactive, high-tech visualiztion tools are on the rise. “Usage keeps hitting record highs, so consumers are clearly still planning renovation projects,” Rajszel said. “In fact, this is the perfect time for retailers to engage or re-engage with consumers and help them capture the surge in demand when things get back to normal.”